LIBRARY 

OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 
Class 


Photograph  by  Morrison,  Chicago 


THE 

PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL 

A    CURSE    TO    THE    CHURCH 
A  MENACE  TO  THE   NATION 


AN  EXPOSE  OF  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL  —  AN  APPALLING 

ACCOUNT  OF   PRIESTLY   GRAFT,    IMMORALITY    AND 

SACRILEGE  —  THE  Loss  OF  THIRTY  MILLION 

CATHOLICS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES,  ETC. 


WITH   AN 

APPENDIX 

WHICH  DEALS  WITH  THE 

SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL  IN  CANADA. 


.,. 
REV.  JEREMIAH  J.   CjROWLEY, 

A  Catholic  Priest  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Chicago,  and  an  American  Citiaen. 


"I  am  convinced  that  Almighty  God  brought  Father  Crowley  to  Amer- 
ica to  save  the  Catholic  Church,  and  that  the  present  scandal  in  Chicago 
— the  most  terrible  that  has  ever  occurred  in  America — was  permitted  by 
Providence  to  bring  to  a  climax  the  reign  of  rottenness,  that  it  might  be 
unearthed,  exposed  and  wiped  out." — ARCHBISHOP  KATZER. 


OF  THE 


(  UNIVERSITY  }  SECOND  EDITION. 

OF         ^ 

Published  by  the  Author, 

REV.  JEREMIAH   J.  CROWLEY, 

Sherman  House, 
CHICAGO,  ILLINOIS,  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 


C7 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1905,  by 

Rev.  Jeremiah  J.  Crowley,  in  the  office  of  the 

Librarian  of  Congress  at  Washington. 


Also  copyrighted  by  the  Author,  in  1905,  in  England,  and  copy- 
right protection  thereby  secured  not  only  in   the  United 
Kingdom  and  throughout  the  British  Dominions, 
but    alsp    in    all    countries    signatory    to 
the  Berne  Convention. 


All  translation  rights  reserved. 


D  ED  1C  A  TION. 


I  DEDICATE  THIS  BOOK  TO   THE  EMANCIPATED 
CATHOLIC  LAITY  OF  TO-MORROW. 


Ad  Majorem  Dei  Gloriam. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


The  Author   Frontispiece 

Archbishop    Falconio    206 

Cardinal   Martinelli    57 

Photographic    Copy   of   the    Apology   Insisted    upon   by   Arch- 
bishop  Quigley 65 

Photographic  Copy  of  a  Letter  from  Archbishop  Falconio 67 

A  Devoted  ?  Parochial  School  Principal 243 

A   Purgatorial   Memento 265 

For  God  and  His  Church! 319 

Cardinal  Satolli  359 

Monsignor    Sbarretti 416 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS: 


CHAPTER    I. 


INTRODUCTORY. 

The  Scope  of  this  Chapter 21 

The  Book. 

Catholic  Priests  and  Prelates  Determined  to  Destroy  the  Pub- 
lic School 21 

Parochial  School  Considered  as  It  Is :  21 

Sources  of  My  Information 22 

Attitude  of  Bishop  McFaul,  Archbishop  Quigley  and  Cardinal 

Gibbons 22 

A  Hurricane  of  Hate 22 

Plain  Speech  Necessary  and  Commended  by  the  Church 22 

Precedents  23 

Conservative  in  Statements 24 

Devotees  of  Bacchus,  Venus  and  Graft 24 

Some  Classes  who  are  Especially  Informed  about  Clerical  Sin- 
ners   25 

Other  Dioceses  Compared  with  Chicago 25 

A  Warning  against  the  Catholic  Press 26 

No  Attack  on  the  Church 26 

Priestly  Corruption  Only  Attacked 26 

No  Attack  on  Christian  Education 26 

The  False  Cry  of  "  Scandal " 27 

Why  Did  not  Arraigned  Priests  Demand  an  Investigation? 27 

To  the  Pope  Shall  be  Sent  a  Copy  of  this  Book 27 

The  Author. 

Writes  in  Obedience  to  Insistence  of  Friends  and  Advisers 27 

Arrested    and    Begging    Priests    Representing    Themselves    as 
Father  Crowley  28 


VI  THE    PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

Personal  Description 28 

Parentage 28 

Nativity    • 28 

Dedicated  to  the  Catholic  Priesthood  at  Birth 28 

Early  Training  and  Education 28 

Ordination  to  the  Priesthood 28 

First  Ministerial  Labor  in  Ireland 29 

First  Ministerial  Labor  in  America 29 

Commendatory  Letters 30 

Commendatory  Editorials  31 

Return  to  Ireland 33 

Ministerial  Labor  in  Ireland 33 

Defends  a  Helpless  Protestant 33 

Arrested,  "  Tried  "  and  Convicted 35 

Excerpts  from  Editorials 35 

Jail  Treatment 40 

Case  Debated  in  British  Parliament 41 

Released   from   Jail 41 

Excerpts  from  the  Press *. 41 

Triumphal  Return  Home 41 

Address  of  Welcome  from   Schull  and   Ballydehob   Branch  of 

the  Irish  National  League 44 

Address  from  Parishioners  at  Goleen 46 

Return  to  America 49 

Commendatory  Letters 49 

Adopted  into  the  Archdiocese  of  Chicago 51 

Appointments  51 

The  Famous  Chicago  Controversy 52 

Sued  at  Oregon,  111.,  in  Name  of  Archbishop  Feehan 52 

Threatens  to  Publish  a  Full  Account  of  the  Sad  Conditions  Pre- 
vailing in  the  Archdiocese  of  Chicago 52 

Excommunicated  Unjustly  and  Invalidly  by  Cardinal  Martinelli  53 
The  Ban  of  Excommunication  Removed  Without  any  Apology 
Being  Made  to  Accused  Priests,  and  Without  any  Promise 

to  Refrain  from  Issuing  Publication 55 

Celebret  Issued  by  Bishop  Scannell,  Agent  of  Cardinal  Martin- 
elli     ' 56 

Celebret  Issued  by  Archbishop  Feehan 56 

Celebrates  Solemn  High  Mass 56 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS.  Vll 

Cardinal  Martinelli's  Promises  Broken 56 

Press  Notices  of  the  "Chicago  Controversy": 

Leslie's  Weekly  ...... '. 58 

The   Ram's  Horn 59 

The  St.  Louis  Republic 60 

The  Interior  63 

The  Ram's  Horn 64 

Archbishop  Feehan's  Death 64 

Archbishop  Quigley  Appointed  to  Chicago 64 

Archbishop  Quigley  Demands  that  an  Apology  be  Signed 64 

Singled  out  for  Persecution 66 

"Celebret"  Denned 66 

Refuses  to  Sign  a  Lie 66 

Archbishop  Falconio  Succeeds  Cardinal  Martinelli  as  Papal  Del- 
egate     , 66 

The  Reply  to  a  Letter  from  Archbishop  Falconio 68 

Archbishop    Falconio   and   Archbishop   Quigley   Meet   in   Alle- 
gheny,   Pa 68 

Archbishop   Falconio   Exhibits   a    Petition   of   Accused   Priests, 

Beseeching  to  be  "  Whitewashed  " 69 

An  Interview  with  Archbishop  Falconio  at  Milwaukee 69 

Archbishop  Falconio  States  that  the  Charges  of  the  Twenty- 
five    Protesting    Priests    were    Duly    Considered    by    Being 

Thrown  into  a  Wastebasket 69 

Confidence  in  Pius  X 69 

Loves  Ireland 70 

A  Naturalized  Citizen  of  the  United  States 70 

Delights  in  American  History 70 

Glories  in  American  Citizenship 70 

Happy  in  Vocation  to  the  Priesthood 70 

In   the   Catholic   Church   I   was   born,  in  the   Catholic   Church 

I  have  lived,  in  the  Catholic  Church  I  will  die 70 

Not  Unmindful  of  Seriousness  of  Position  Taken  in  Openly  Ex- 
posing Parochial  School 70 

Champions  of  Parochial  School  have  Wealth,  Power  and  Pres- 
tige    70 

Relies  Solely  on  God  and  Approbation  of  Decent  Men 71 

"  Simple  Duty  hath  no  Place  for  Fear  " 71 


Vlll  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL, 

CHAPTER  II. 

THE   PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL,  AND   CATHOLIC  CLERICAL 
HOSTILITY    TOWARD    THE    PUBLIC    SCHOOL. 

Historic  Statement. 

Its  Origin  Explained  by  Bishop  Spalding 72 

The  Real  Reasons  for  its  Establishment 73 

Clerical  Coercion  of  Catholics. 

Threatened  with  Hell-fire 74 

Jesuits  Particularly  Vicious 74 

Refused    the  Sacraments 74 

Archbishop   Elder's   Letter 75 

Dire  Predictions 79 

Coercion  by  a  Sodomite 79 

Not  Five  per  cent,  of  Catholic  Men  Favor  Parochial  School 81 

Catholic   Hostility  Toward  the   Public   School. 

Annihilation  of  the  Public  School  the  Object 82 

Destructive  Clerical  Tactics 82 

The  State  Must  not  Educate  the  Child 83 

Minority  Rights    84 

A  Division  of  the  Public  School  Funds 85 

Abuse  of  the  Public  School 87 

Charged  with  Being  Godless 89 

Charged  with  Frivolity  and  Depravity 90 

Charged  with  Breeding  Socialism 92 

Charged  with  Causing  Lynchings 93 

Scheme   to  Deteriorate  the   Public   School   by  the   Destruction 

and  Prevention  of  Normal  Schools 94 

Attacks  on  Public  School  Veiled  and  Open 96 

A  Simulated  Liberality 97 

On  the  Eve  of  an  Aggressive  Clericalism 98 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS.       •  IX 

CHAPTER   III. 


THE   BOARD   OF  EDUCATION   OF  THE  PAROCHIAL 
SCHOOL  SYSTEM. 

What  and  Who. ....../ 99 

Vatican  History. 

Taken  Exclusively  from  Works  of  Renowned  Catholic  Histor- 
ians     100 

General  Immorality  101 

Unchastity  and  Simony 102 

Papal  and  Clerical  Immorality 102 

Prostitution,  Sodomy  and  Murders  in  Churches 102 

Gross  Liberties  by  Artists 103 

Immoral    Religious    103 

The  Church  Between  the  Ninth  and  Tenth  Centuries 105 

Morals  of  the  Clergy,  A.  D.  1303-1517 . 105 

Graft  at  the  Papal  Court 106 

Popes  Influenced  by  Astrology - 107 

The  Plain  Catholic  People  Saved  .the  Church 107 

Corruption  in  the  College  of  Cardinals. 
Graft,  Immorality,  Cruelty,  Worldliness,  Etc ..................  108 

Incidents  in  the  Lives  of  the  Popes. 

Pope   John   XL,   A.    D.   931-936. 
Made  Pope  by  His   Infamous   Mother 108 

Pope   John   XII.,   A.    D.   955-964. 
A  Profligate.     Indicted  for   Incest,  etc 109 

Pope   Benedict   IX.,   A.   D.    1033-1044. 
A   Profligate.     Gets    Married ...110 

Pope   John    XXII.,    A.    D.    1316-1334. 
A  Multimillionaire Ill 

Pope  Urban  V.,  A.  D.  1362-1370. 
.Indescribable   Immorality    112 


K  «THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

Pope   Gregory  XL,  A.   D.   1370-1378. 

States  of  the  Church  Revolt 112 

St.  Catherine  Denounces  the  Papal  Court 113 

A  Two-Headed  Papacy 113 

Pope   Pius   II.,   A.   D.   1458-1464. 

The  Father  of  Several   Children .' 115 

The  Writer  of  Erotic  Literature 1 16 

Pope    Innocent   VIIL,   A.    D.    1484-1492. 

Formerly  Cardinal  Cibo 116 

Buys  His  Election 117 

The  Father  of  Two  Children 118 

His  Coronation   118 

Marries  His  Son  in  the  Vatican;  also  Two  Other  Relatives. ..  .118 

A  Sumptuous  Wedding  Banquet 120 

Reform   120 

Forged  Bulls   120 

Clerical  Sports  121 

Simony    122 

A    Foul-teen-Year-Old    Cardinal 122 

New  Means  to  Extort  Money. 123 

Pope   Alexander   VL,   A.    D.    1492-1503. 

The  Most  Infamous  of  the  Iniquitous  Popes 123 

His  Memory  Rots 124 

His  Character 124 

Grossly  Immoral    125 

Has  Four  Children 125 

Luxury   126 

Buys  the  Papacy 127 

One  of  His  Mistresses 129 

Has  a  Son  Born  While  Pope  and  Legitimates  Him 129 

Makes  his   Daughter,  Lucretia   Borgia,   Regent 130 

A  Pointed  Poem 130 

Forever  Infamous 131 

Muzzled  the  Press 131 

Energetically  Repressed  Immoral  Heretics 131 

Pope   Julius   II.,   A.    D.    1503-1513. 

The  War  Pope.... 132 

Formerly   Giuliano   della   Rovere 132 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS.  XI 

Made  a  Cardinal  in  Youth 132 

Table  Bill  $4,600  to  $6,900  Monthly 132 

Objectionable  Ways  to  Raise  Money 132 

Bribery  in  the  Roman  Court 133 

Had  Three  Natural  Daughters 133 

Accused  of  Sodomy 133 

Pope   Leo   X.,   A.    D.    1513-1521. 

Made  Cardinal  when  Fourteen  Years  Old 133 

Lavishly  Extravagant   134 

Least  Fitted  to  Push  Reforms 134 

Religion  Secondary   134 

Table  Bill  Over  $16,000  Monthly 135 

Indulgences. 

One  Explanation  of  Decay  of  Spiritual  Life 135 

In  Connection  with  Jubilees 136 

In  Relation  to  Pope  Nicholas  V 136 

Gold  the  Inspiration 137 

In  Relation  to  Alexander  VI.     Gold  Again 141 

Indulgence  Graft  and  Luther 142 

Pope   Hadrian  VI.,  A.   D.   1523-1534. 

The  Reverse  of  Leo  X 148 

Sincerely  Religious • .  148 

Admits  Corruption  of  Priests,  Prelates  and  Popes 148 

Inaugurates   Reforms    148 

Assails  Luther  149 

German  States  List  101  Grievances  Against  Rome 149 

Attempts  to   Economize 149 

Poisoned?    150 

Pope   Paul   III.,   A.   D.    1534-1549. 

'Trafficked  in  His  Sister's  Shame 150 

Excommunicated  Henry  the  Eighth,  King  of  England 150 

Pope   Innocent  X.,  A.   D.   1644-1655. 
Lady  Olympia  151 

Pope  Alexander  VII.,  A.  D.  1655-1667. 

Nepotism  151 

Extravagance 151 


Xll  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

Pope  Alexander  VIII,  A.   D.   1689-1691. 
Nepotism  151 

Pope  Benedict  XIII.,  A.  D.   1724-1730. 

A  Reforming  Pope 152 

Clerical  Corruption 152 

Pope  Benedict  XIV.,  A.   D.   1740-1758. 
Disordered  Finances   ' 152 

Pope  Pius  IX.,  A.   D.   1846-1878. 
An  Infidel  Secretary  of  State 152 

Pope  Pius  X.,  1903. 
The  Cardinals   152 

The   Vatican  Assails   Americanisms. 
The  Issue  Stated 154 

Americanisms. 

Human  Equality  155 

Sovereignty  of  the  People 156 

Freedom  of  Conscience,  Speech  and  Press 156 

History   of  the    Establishment    of    Freedom    of    Conscience    in 
America   157 

Americanisms  Enunciated  by  American.  Presidents. 

George    Washington:     Resist   any   Innovation    upon    American 

Principles 158 

John  Adams:     Venerates  the  Constitution 158 

Thomas  Jefferson:  Freedom  of  Conscience  and  of  the  Press...  159 

James  Madison:  Free  Conscience  and  Free  Press 159 

James  Monroe:  Equality.     Sovereignty  of  the  People 159 

John  Quincy  Adams:  No  Union  of  Church  and  State 160 

Andrew  Jackson:  Free  Conscience  and  Free  Press 160 

Martin  Van  Buren:  The  People  the  Source  of  Power.     Church 

and  State  160 

William   Henry  Harrison:   No   Government  by    Divine    Right. 

Free  Conscience,  Speech  and  Press 161 

John  Tyler:  Popular  Sovereignty.     Foreigners  must  be  Amer- 
icanized.    Personal  Liberties   161 

James  K.  Polk:  Equality.     Freedom  of  Conscience.     A  Treason 
to  Mankind 162 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS.  Xlll 

Zachariah  Taylor:  Most  Stable  Government  on  Earth 163 

Millard  Fillmore:  Common  Schools.     Constitution  the  best  ever 

Formed    . . . 163 

Franklin  Pierce:  America,  a  Beacon  Light  to  the  World 163 

James  Buchanan:  Richest  Political  Blessings  Heaven  ever  Be- 
stowed   164 

Abraham  Lincoln :  America's  Free  Institutions 164 

Andrew  Johnson:  God's  Hand  in  the  F'raming  and  Adopting  of 
the  Constitution.  Equality.  Education.  Free  Speech.  Re- 
ligion. Popular  Sovereignty 166 

Ulysses  S.  Grant:  Personal  Liberties.     Free  Pulpit,  Press  and 

School.     The  States  of  the  Church.     Education 167 

Rutherford   B.   Hayes:    Education.     Separation   of    Church   and 

State    167 

James  A.  Garfield:  The  Constitution 168 

Chester  A.  Arthur:  Popular  Government 168 

Grover  Cleveland:  Popular  Government.     The  Constitution 169 

Benjamin  Harrison:  American  Liberties,  Blessings  and  Duties..  170 
William    McKinley:    Popular    Government.     Six    Free    Things. 
Education.     The  Constitution.     Fruits  of  American  Sover- 
eignty.   The  Step  of  the  Republic.     The  Nation's  Hope  is 

in  the  Public  School  and  University 171 

Theodore  Roosevelt:  Free  Schools.  No  Public  Money  for  Pa- 
rochial Schools.  Full  Religious  Toleration.  Separation  of 
Church  and  State.  Immigrants  must  Revere  our  Flag.  The 
Church  which  Remains  Foreign  is  Doomed 172 

Vaticanisms. 

Against  Equality,  Freedom  of  Thought,  Sovereignty  of  the  Peo- 
ple, Freedom  of  Conscience,  Freedom  of  Speech,  Freedom 
of  the  Press,  and  Separation  of  Church  and  State.  Cath- 
olic Church  Should  be  Supreme  in  the  State 174 

Laments  the  Lack  of  Ecclesiastical  Authority  in  the  Public 
Schools  177 

When  Church  and  State  Conflict,  Obedience  to  the  State  Be- 
comes a  Crime 177 

Church  and  State  Cannot  be  Separated 179 

Separation  of  Church  and  State  an  Absurdity.  Sometimes  it  is 
Worthy  of  Toleration  when  Situation  Practically  might  be 
Worse— in  the  United  States,  for  Instance 179 

Confirms  and  Renews  all  Censures  of  His  Predecessors 181 

Not  in  America  is  Found  the  Most  Desirable  Status  of  the 
Church  .  ..181 


XIV  THE    PAROCHIAL    SCHOOL. 

Sighs  for  the  Favor  of  the  Laws  and  the  Patronage  of  the  Pub-  • 
lie  Authority    182 

Any  Civilization  Conflicting  with  Holy  Church  is  a  Meaning- 
less Name 182 

A   Question. 

Does   the    Parochial    School   Teach   Americanisms    or   Vatican- 
isms ?    . .  183 


CHAPTER   IV. 

THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL   SUPERINTENDENTS. 

Who  and   What 184 

Two  Illustrations  of  the  Selection  of  Parochial  School  Superin- 
tendents     186 

Unworthy  Parochial  School  Principals  and  Assistant  Principals 

Shielded   186 

Moral  Inconsistencies  of  Superintendents 194 

Thorough  Supervision  of  Parochial  School  Practically  Impos- 
sible      194 

Superintendents  are  not  Answerable  to  the  American  People..  196 
A  Pertinent  Question 197 


CHAPTER  V. 


THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL  PRINCIPALS  AND  ASSISTANT 
PRINCIPALS. 

Who  and  What 198 

Parochial  School  Principals  Shield  Each  Other 202 

Cheap  Politicians   203 

"  Get  Rich  Quick  "  Investors 203 

Liberal  Patrons  of  the  Arts  and  Sciences  at  World's  Fairs.... 204 

Nautical  Clerics    - 208 

Dealers  in  Smut 208 

Brazen   Hypocrites    209 

Malodorous    Pedagogic    Samples. 

Explanatory    209 

Rev.  No.    1.    A  Forger 210 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS.  XV 

Rev.  No.    2.     A  National  Rounder   211 

Rev.  No.     3.     A  Lover  of  Fast  Horses  and  Fast  Women 212 

Rev.  No.     4.     A  Grocer 212 

Rev.  No.     5.     A  Pugilist  212 

Rev.  No.     6.     A  Fiend  216 

Rev.  No.     7.     A  Doctor  of  Medicine 216 

Rev.  No.    8.    A  Sot 217 

Rev.  No.    -9.     A  Gospel  Pitcher 219 

Rev.  No.  10.     A   Wounded   Veteran 220 

Rev.  No.  11.     A  Hat-Band  Lover 220 

Rev.  No.  12.     A  Wolf  in  Priest's  Clothing 221 

Rev.  No.  13.     A  Ballad  Singer ...223 

Rev.  No.  14.     Celibacy   Inexpedient 224 

Rev.  No.  15.    A   Festive   Fellow 225 

Rev.  No.  16.     An  Equestrian  Hero 226 

Rev.  No.  17.     A  Cuspidore  Martyr 226 

Rev.  No.  18.     A  Dead  Beat .227 

Rev.  No.  19.     A   Brewer    227 

Rev.  No.  20.     A  Sodomist    229 

Rev.  No.  21.     A   Philanthropist    229 

Rev.  No.  22.     A    Seductionist .231 

Rev.  No.  23.     A  Debauchee   233 

Rev.  No.  24.     An  Admirer  of  Little  Egypt 233 

Rev.  No.  25.     A  Ground  Hog 236 

Rev.  No.  26.     A  Monstrosity .- 237 

Rev.  No.  27.     A  Preference  for  Black 241 

Rev.  No.  28,  Plus   Scores   and   Scores.     Devotees   of    Bacchus, 

Venus,   Graft   and   Gambling 242 

"  The  Gates  of  Hell  " 244 


CHAPTER   VI. 


THE    PAROCHIAL    SCHOOL    TEACHERS. 

Who  and  What    .............................................  245 

Pedagogic  and  Other  Handicaps  ..............................  247 


CHAPTER   VII. 


GRAFT. 

Parochial  School  Officers  are  Grafters 251 

Holy  Orders  Graft 252 


XVI  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

Promotion  Graft  .253 

Vacation  Graft 254 

Anniversary  Graft 254 

Baptismal  Graft 255 

Penance  Graft   256 

First  Communion  Graft 257 

Confirmation  Graft 257 

Matrimonial  Graft t 258 

Extreme  Unction  Graft 260 

Last  Will  and  Testament  Graft 260 

Funeral  Graft 261 

Cemetery  Graft  264 

Purgatorial  Graft   264 

Building  Graft  266 

Incendiary  Graft 267 

Sanitary  Graft   268 

Corner.  Stone  Graft 268 

Dedication  Graft  269 

Consecration  Graft 269 

Mass  Graft 270 

Church  Fair  Graft 271 

The  Paulist  Father's  Fair 274 

Poor  Box  Graft 275 

St.  Anthony  Graft 276 

Relic  Graft 280 

Charm  Graft  284 

Grotto  Graft ,  .284 

Holy  Thursday  Graft 285 

GoodTriday  or  Holy  Land  Graft 286 

Holy  Saturday  Graft 286 

Easter  and  Christmas  Graft 287 

Mission  Graft •. 288 

Revolving  Candlestick  Graft .' 293 

Candlemas  Day  Graft 294 

Indulgence  Graft 295 

Special  Collection  Graft ' 295 

Peter's  Pence  Graft 296 

Catholic  University  Graft 297 

Sodality  and  Lodge  Graft 298 

Advertising  Graft  299 

Sacramental    Graft  299 

Savings  Bank  Graft 300 

Eleemosynary  Graft 300 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS.  Xvii 

Undertaking  Graft  301 

Employment  Graft 301 

"  Pull  "  Graft   301 

School  Procession  Graft 302 

Commencement  Day  Graft 302 

Tuition  Graft  303 

School  Book  Graft 303 

Accident  Suit  Graft 304 

Testimony  Graft   304 

Naturalization   Graft .305 

Janitor  Graft   305 

Assembly   Hall   Graft 305 

Miracle  Working  Graft 305 

The  Last  Straw 306 

The  Handling  and  Investing  of  Graft 307 

A  Suggestion  in  Arithmetic 308 

Annual  Income  of  Pastor  of  Small  City  Parish,  $10,000 309 

Annual  Income  of  Pastor  of  Large  City  Parish,  $100,000 309 

Conclusion    310 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


THE    PAROCHIAL    SCHOOL    PUPILS. 

Inadequately  Instructed  Secularly 313 

Irreligious  Instruction 314 

Demoralized    .  ..316 


CHAPTER   IX. 


THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL   AND   THE    LOSS    OF   THIR- 
TY   MILLION    CATHOLICS    IN   THE 
UNITED    STATES. 

A  Statistical  Argument  by  a  Catholic  Authority 322 

Admitted  by  Bishop  McFaul  of  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  U.  S.  A.     324 

Admitted  by  Official  Organ  of  Cardinal  Gibbons 325 

Placing  the  Blame 325 


XV111  THE    PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

CHAPTER   X. 

APAISM. 

Historical   Statement    334 

A  Catholic  Cannot  Become  President  of  the  United  States 337 

History  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  America 338 

The  Causes  of  Apaism,  and  the  Cure. 

The  Parochial  School  Its  Chief  Cause 342 

The  Federation  of  Catholic  Societies 343 

Temporal   Power    350 

A  Nuncio  at  Washington 353 

Blatant   Boasting   362 

The  Cure  for  Apaism 366 

CHAPTER  XI. 

THE    EMANCIPATION   OF  THE    CATHOLIC   LAITY. 

The  Laity  Must  Control  Temporalities 372 

Laymen  Were  Formerly  Trustees 381 

Laymen  Ceased  to  be  Trustees  Because  they  Interfered  with 

Priestly  Drunkenness,  Immorality  and  Graft 387 

An  Impending  Explosion 388 

Catholics  Should  Study  the  Catholic  Bible,  Particularly  the 

Four  Gospels  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles:     Commended 

by  Leo  XIII 388 

These  Last  Named  Books  Give  the  Very  Words  and  Deeds 

of  Jesus  Christ 389 

The  Acts  of  the  Apostles  Gives  the  Early  History  of  the 

Catholic  Church  389 

The  Simplicity,  Frugality,  Unselfishness  and  Purity  of  the  First 

Hierarchy  389 

The  Fathers  of  the  Church  did  not  Occupy  Palaces,  Wear 

Princely  Clothes  and  Receive  Royal  Incomes 389 

Laity  Should  Scrutinize  the  Confessional 390 

Punishment  of  Drunken  and  Immoral  Priests 392 

Prescribed  by  the  Council  of  Trent 394 

Clerical  Excuses  for  Priestly  Misconduct 395 

Judas 396 

St.  Peter  396 

St  Augustine  397 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS.  XIX 

The   Catholic    People    Should    Forsake    Drunken,    Grafting  and 

Immoral  Priests   397 

A  Decree  of  the  Church  to  this  Effect " 398 

"  Ecclesiastical    Power,    when   it    Destroys    the    Church,   is    In- 
fernal Power"  .  ,  .399 


CHAPTER   XII. 


THE   PUBLIC   SCHOOL. 

Historical     400 

An  Absolutely  Necessary  Institution 400 

The  Safeguard  of  Freedom  of  Conscience,  Free  Speech  and  Free 

Press     402 

Prevents  National  Stagnation 404 

Appreciation   of   the    Public    School   by   Distinguished    Catholics. 

Bishop  John  Lancaster  Spalding , .  .405 

Hon.  John  F.  Finerty 406 

Religious  Instruction. 

Religious  Teaching  in  the  Public  School 406 

A  Suggested  Religious  and  Ethical  Parliament 407 

A  Sectarian  Minority  Dog-in-the-Manger 407 

Recommendations. 

A  Warning  to  the  Critical  Friends  of  the  Public  School 408 

Non-Catholic  Friends  of  the  Public  School  Should  Withdraw 
all  Support  from  Catholic  Institutions 408 

Catholic  Public  School  Teachers  Should  Unite  in  Defense  of 
the  Public  School 410 

An  Amendment  to  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  (orig- 
inally Proposed  by  President  U.  S.  Grant) 413 

Conclusion. 

The  American  People  Should  Treat  as  a  Deadly  Enemy  of  the 
Nation  any  Sect  that  Attempts  to  Undermine  the  Public 
School,  or  that  tries  to  get  Public  Funds 415 

The  Parochial  School — A  Curse  to  the  Church,  A  Menace  to 
the  Nation 415 

The  Appalling  Exposures  in  this  Book  a  Labor  of  Sorrow,  and 
made  in  Obedience  to  Duty  to  Country,  Church,  and  God.  415 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

OF   THE 

APPENDIX 

WHICH    DEALS    WITH    THE 

SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL  IN  CANADA. 


Historical 417 

Separate  or  Parochial  Schools  maintained  at  the  Expense  of  the 

Public 421 

The  Separate  School  in  Ontario 421 

The  Sturgeon  Falls  Case 422 

A  Priest  Appears  on  the  Scene 423 

War  is  Proclaimed 424 

The  Bishop  Forces  the  Legislature 425 

An  Appeal  to  the  Civil  Courts 426 

Mr.  Craig's  Statement 427 

Capitalists  Intimidated 428 

Increase  of  Separate  Schools 428 

The  Bellrock  Case 429 

The  Bishop  Active '  _ 430 

People  Leave  the  District 431 

An  Independent  Catholic 432 

The  Curran  Case 432 

Building  of  First  School 433 

Machinery  of  Law  Defective 434 

An  Ardent  Ultramontane  Priest 434 

Children  Expelled  from  the  School 435 

Mr.  Presley's  Statement 435 

Another  Testimony 436 

Conspiracy  Exposed 437 

A  Weak  Judge 438 

The  Downeyville  Case 439 

A  Canadian  Winter  Experience 441 

Secret  Machinations 442 

A  Bulldozing  Priest 443 

The  School  is  Transferred 443 

Inspector  Knight's  Report 444 

Priest  Applies  the  Closure 445 

Interview  with  Father  Bretherton 445 

The  Fight  Goes  on 446 


TABLE  OF    CONTENTS.  2OCI 

A  Sensational  Scene  in  Church 446 

An  Injunction  Served 447 

Bishop  Compels  Submission 448 

A  Remedy  Needed 450 

Public  Men  Indifferent 450 

The  Famous  Christian  Brothers  Case 451 

Teaching  Without  Certificates 451 

Terms  of  Contract 452 

Purpose  of  the  Christian  Brothers  . 453 

Mr.  J.  David  Gratton  takes  Action 455 

The  Judge's  Decision 456 

Regulations  Are  Evaded 456 

Appeal  Court  Delivers  Judgment 457 

A  Summing  Up 458 

Laity  Should  Unite 459 

Attempt  to  Capture  Canadian  West 460 

How  Manitoba  Stands 460 

Monsignor  Sbarretti's  Interference 461 

Monsignor  Falconio  Shows  Anger 462 

The  Canadian  Premier  Fails  to  Clear  Himself 463 

Manitoba  Hemmed  In 463 

How  Was  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  Influenced 464 

Sir  Wilfrid  Slanders  America 465 

The  Slander  Answered 465 

Education  Clauses  of  the  Antonomy  Measure 467 

Hon.  F.  W.  G.  Haultain  Remonstrates 468 

Cabinet  is  Not  Consulted 470 

Mr.  Christopher  Robinson's  Opinion 470 

Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  an  Apt  Scholar ' 471 

Unjustifiable  to  Coerce  the  North- West 471 

Disastrous  Effects  of  the  Separate  School 472 

Immigration 472 

Interference  by  the  Vatican 473 

Educational  Standard  Lowered 474 

Increase  of  Crime.  .  .  " V 476 

Denationalization 477 

Civil  War 479 

An  Appeal  to  Canadians 479 

A  Warning  to  Americans 480 


ARCHBISHOP    FALCONIO. 


Preface  to  the  Second  Edition. 


As  a  Catholic  priest  and  an  American  citizen,  I  beg  you, 
reader,  to  do  me  the  favor  to  peruse  carefully  this  preface. 

I  am  engaged  in  a  crusade  against  Catholic  clerical  cor- 
ruption and  un-Americanism.  I  face  single-handed  the  most 
powerful  aggregation  of  wealth  and  influence  on  earth. 

In  December,  1904,  I  published  the  first  edition  of  my 
book.  The  only  reply  which  has  been  made  to  it  by  Cath- 
olic ecclesiastics  is  an  attempt  to  boycott  it  through  the  Con- 
fessional, to  keep  it  out  of  bookstores,  and  to  induce  the  secu- 
lar press  to  ignore  it.  In  these  efforts  my  opponents  have 
been  quite  successful.  Catholic  people  are  in  sad  subjection 
to  their  priests ;  bookdealers  shrink  from  taking  the  initiative 
in  handling  a  publication  which  lays  bare  the  rascalities  of 
Catholic  clerics ;  and  secular  papers  are  too  often  held  in  bond- 
age by  the  vast  wealth  and  the  mighty  influence  of  the  Cath- 
olic hierarchy. 

My  crusade  is  no  ephemeral  effort,  and  its  scope  is  bounded 
by  no  narrow  limits.  It  is  here  to  stay  as  long  as  God  per- 
mits me  to  live,  and  its  objectives  are  the  wide  ramifications 
of  an  ecclesiastical  corruption  which  is  destroying  the  sheep 
for  whom  Christ  died,  and  which  seeks  to  undermine  the  very 
foundations  of  free  government. 

Catholic  ecclesiastical  corruption  ramparts  itself  in  the 
ignorance  of  the  people,  and  it  fattens  on  their  credulity;  it 
gathers  strength  from  the  apathy  of  its  opponents;  and  it 
bears  with  equanimity  the  fierce  attack  of  to-day  in  full  confi- 
dence, born  of  experience,  that  the  evening  will  end  the  strug- 
gle and  that  the  morrow  will  bring  forgetfulness. 


2O  d  PREFACE. 

There  is  but  one  weapon  which  will  destroy  Catholic  eccle- 
siastical corruption,  and  that  weapon  is  TRUTH.  There  is 
but  one  way  in  which  the  weapon  of  truth  can  be  wielded  suc- 
cessfully, and  that  way  is  PUBLICITY.  Catholic  ecclesias- 
tical corruption  cannot  withstand  a  universal,  thunder-and- 
iightning,  unceasing  publicity  of  truth. 

I  purpose  to  wage  a  crusade  against  Catholic  ecclesiastical 
corruption  by  publicity  of  the  truth,  and  I  purpose  that  my 
crusade  shall  be  without  a  parallel  in  the  annals  of  the  Cath- 
olic Church.  I  purpose  to  circulate  my  book  throughout  the 
world.  I  purpose  to  inaugurate  a  tract  movement  which  shall 
cover  Catholic  communities  with  information  leaflets  (printed 
in  various  languages  and  circulated  gratis),  setting  forth  an- 
cient and  modern  historic  and  other  matter.  I  purpose  to 
bring  suit  after  suit  to  test  the  validity  of  titles  held  by  Cath- 
olic ecclesiastics — titles  which  were  secured  by  fraud.  I  pur- 
pose to  lay  bare  to  the  gaze  of  the  people  of  America  the  inner 
workings  of  Catholic  ecclesiastical  rings  and  lobbies.  I  pur- 
pose to  bring  into  the  open  with  me  a  number  of  good  priests 
who  as  yet  have  not  been  heard  from  in  my  crusade  for  re- 
form. I  purpose  to  hire  the  columns  of  secular  papers  for  the 
insertion  of  pertinent  matter.  I  purpose  to  prosecute  appeal 
after  appeal  to  the  Pope,  and  thus  compel  the  Vatican  to  meet 
some  mighty  questions  face  to  face. 

J  feel  that  in  my  crusade  I  shall  have  the  sincere  wishes 
for  success  of  every  enlightened  citizen  of  the  United  States 
and  of  Canada.  That  my  crusade  is  a  movement  large  enough 
to  appall,  I  am  well  aware.  But  my  trust  is  in  God.  He  lives ! 
He  reigns!  Strong  in  my  faith  in  Him,  I  gladly  consecrate 
to  the  herculean  task  which  I  have  undertaken,  my  means,  my 
honor  and  my  life. 

But  if  I  am  to  succeed,  I  must  have  something  more  than 
kind  wishes.  I  MUST  HAVE  MONEY !  My  opponents  have 


PREFACE.  20  C 

wealth  which  runs  into  the  millions.  I  CANNOT  GET  PUB- 
LICITY FOR  THE  TRUTH  WITHOUT  MONEY.  How 
am  I  to  get  money  ?  There  is  but  one  way  which  is  now  open 
to  me,  and  that  is  to  secure  a  phenomenal  sale  of  my  book 
on  the  Parochial  School.  If  I  could  sell  a  few  million  copies 
of  it,  I  would  have  enough  money  to  secure  a  publicity  of 
truth  which  would  shake,  as  with  an  earthquake,  Catholic 
clerical  corruption.  I  could  print  and  circulate  information 
leaflets  which  would  compel  Catholics  to  read,  to  think  and 
to  act.  I  could  engage  able  attorneys  and  bring  suits  which 
would  startle  America.  I  could  prosecute  appeals  to  the  Pope, 
and  thus  bring  the  Vatican  face  to  face  with  corruption  which 
it  tries  to  ignore  and  for  which  it  is  largely  responsible.  I 
could  hire  the  aid  of  the  mighty  secular  press.  I  could  sur- 
round myself  with  a  band  of  worthy  priests  and  support  them 
—now  they  dare  not  come  to  me  for  fear  that  they  will  be 
reduced  to  beggary. 

If  each  of  my  well-wishers  in  the  United  States  and  in 
Canada  would  be  the  means  of  selling  but  twenty  of  my  books, 
1  would  secure  a  mighty  prestige  and  an  immense  capital  for 
my  crusade  against  Catholic  clerical  corruption. 

Will  you  not  endeavor,  reader,  to  sell  for  me  at  least 
twenty  of  my  books?  My  book  sells  for  ONE  DOLLAR.  I 
will  gladly  allow  a  liberal  commission.  If  the  commission  is 
not  desired,  I  will  place  the  amount  of  it  to  your  credit  as  a 
contribution  to  my  crusade  fund.  I  may  seem  to  be  asking 
much  of  you,  reader,  but  if  these  were  the  days  of  Savonarola 
I  am  confident  that  that  heroic  monk  of  Florence  would  find 
you  among  his  most  ardent  and  self-sacrificing  champions.  I 
am  a  lesser  light  than  that  noble  soul,  but  I,  too,  know  what 
it  means  to  put  life  in  jeopardy,  and  my  cause  is  none  the  less 
important  than  was  his,  and  to  you,  my  friend,  my  cause  is 
of  infinitely  more  moment.  You  would  have  been  glad  to  have 


20  PREFACE. 

helped  him:  may  I  not  hope  that  you  will  help  me?  I  shall 
be  pleased  to  hear  from  you.  I  will  be  thankful  for  any  sug- 
gestions with  which  you  may  deign  to  honor  me. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  this  edition  is  on  a  much  larger 
scale  than  the  former.  An  Appendix  has  been  added,  giving 
an  account  of  the  school  situation  in  Canada.  After  the  issue 
of  the  first  edition  I  happened  to  be  visiting  Canada,  and,  to 
my  amazement,  found  the  parochial  school,  though  called  by 
another  name,  flourishing  there  with  great  vigor.  I  pro- 
ceeded to  inquire  into  matters,  traveling  for  that  purpose  ex- 
tensively throughout  the  provinces  of  Ontario  and  Quebec, 
and  meeting  some  of  the  nfost  prominent  public  men  from  all 
parts  of  Canada.  My  amazement  was  increased  on  seeing  how 
the  public  school  system  of  Canada  was  going  down  before  the 
religious  school;  and  I  felt  that  here  was  an  object  lesson  to 
my  fellow-citizens  by  which  they  might  profit.  I  thought,  at 
the  same  time,  that  a  word  of  warning  should  be  given  the 
Canadian  people  of  their  danger. 

As  it  may  be  of  interest  to  my  readers  to  learrn  that  I  sent 
a  copy  of  the  first  edition  of  my  book  to  Pius  X.,  in  fulfillment 
of  the  promise  contained  in  the  Introductory  Chapter,  I  now 
give  a  copy  of  a  letter  which  I  sent  to  His  Holiness : 

SHERMAN  HOUSE, 
CHICAGO,  Illinois,  U.  S.  A., 

April  29,  1905. 
To  His  Holiness, 

Pope  Pius  X.,m 

Rome,  Italy. 
MAY  IT  PLEASE  YOUR  HOLINESS: 

I  humbly  beg  to  inform 

Your  Holiness  that  on  December  27,  1904,  I  published  a  book 
entitled  'The  Parochial  School,  A  Curse  to  the  Church,  A 
Menace  to  the  Nation,"  and  on  its  twenty-seventh  page  I 
stated  that  I  would  send  to  Your  Holiness  one  of  the  first 


PREFACE.  2O  g 

copies  of  it.  I  now  fulfill  that  promise  by  this  day  sending  to 
Your  Holiness  by  registered  mail,  under  triplicate  cover,  an 
autograph  copy  from  the  first  edition. 

As  a  reason  for  the  publication  of  my  book  in  addition  to 
the  reasons  enumerated  in  it,  I  beg  to  inform  Your  Holiness 
that  the  illustrious  predecessor  of  Your  Holiness,  Pope  Leo 
XIII.,  and  His  advisers  at  the  Vatican,  never  paid  the  slightest 
attention  to  any  of  the  protests,  charges  and  appeals  which 
were  filed  at  Rome  during  the  controversy  that  arose  in  the 
Archdiocese  of  Chicago  over  the  elevation  of  Rev.  P.  J.  Mul- 
doon  of  this  city  to  the  Episcopate.  More  than  a  score  of 
prominent  pastors  and  priests  opposed  his  elevation  on  the 
most  serious  grounds.  During  this  controversy  over  one  hun- 
dred documents  were  sent  to  Rome  by  the  friends  of  purity, 
truth  and  justice;  but  the  Church  authorities  there  remained 
as  silent  as  the  Sphinx.  This  course  of  the  Vatican  convinced 
me  that  the  clerical  and  episcopal  enemies,  at  home  and  abroad, 
of  a  reformation  in  the  American  priesthood,  had  formed  a 
coterie  which  was  influential  enough,  either  to  keep  the  docu- 
ments from  the  Head  of  the  Church,  or  to  induce  Him  to 
ignore  them.  Since  the  accession  of  Your  Holiness  to  the 
Pontifical  Throne,  the  same  course  of  silence- has  been  pursued. 
In  view  of  these  facts,  I  could  see  no  other  way  to  circumvent 
the  iniquitous  coterie  than  to  resort  to  publicity.  I  humbly  as- 
sure Your  Holiness  that  I  was  greatly  emboldened  to  adopt 
this  method  by  the  fearless  and  encouraging  words  which 
Your  Holiness  addressed  to  the  eminent  historian  of  Holy 
Church,  Dr.  Ludwig  Pastor, — "The  truth  is  not  to  be  feared." 

Your  Holiness  will  observe  that  my  book  deals  with  the 
parochial  school  as  it  is,  and  that  it  is  in  fact  an  expose  of 
that  institution;  that  it  contains  an  appalling  account  of 
priestly  graft,  immorality  and  sacrilege,  a  part  of  which  ac- 
count is  taken  from  the  history  of  Dr.  Pastor  and  another  part 
of  which  consists  of  the  details  of  the  crimes  and  rascalities  of 
twenty-seven  American  ecclesiastics;  that  it  shows  that  the 
Catholic  Church  in  America  has  lost  over  thirty  million  adher- 


20  h  PREFACE, 

ents ;  that  it  discusses  the  existence  of  Apaism,  and  shows  that 
among  its  causes  are  the  Parochial  School,  the  demand  for  the 
restoration  of  the  Temporal  Power  of  the  Papacy,  the  insis- 
tence upon  having  a  Papal  Nuncio  at  Washington,  and  the 
blatant  boasting  of  American  prelates,  and  that  for  a  conclu- 
sive proof  of  the  existence  of  Apaism  it  cites  the  fact  that  no 
political  party  in  this  country  dare  nominate  a  Catholic  for  the 
Presidency  or  Vice-Presidency  of  the  United  States;  that  it 
pleads  for  the  control  of  the  temporalities  of  the  Church  to  be 
placed  in  the  hands  of  the  laity ;  and  that  it  champions  the 
Public  School  on  the  ground  that  it  is  an  absolutely  necessary 
institution,  and  shows  that  it  guarantees  freedom  of  speech, 
freedom  of  conscience  and  the  freedom  of  the  press. 

I  .humbly  assure  Your  Holiness  that  my  book  is  a  truthful 
presentation  of  the  facts  therein  stated,  and  that  it  is  far  less 
severe  than  the  materials  in  my  hands  warrant.  I  humbly 
assure  Your  Holiness  that  only  the  profound  conviction  that  a 
resort  to  publicity  was  the  sole  course  left  open  to  me  by  which 
to  circumvent  the  powerful  coterie  of  iniquitous  priests  and 
prelates,  and  thereby  to  save  from  destruction  the  Catholic 
Church  in  America,  could  have  induced  me  to  publish  my 
book.  In  what  I  have  done  I  am  glad  to  assure  Your  Holiness 
that  I  have  the  comforting  consciousness  of  the  approval  of 
Almighty  God.  In  fact,  during  the  preparation  of  my  book  I 
sought  daily  the  aid  of  Holy  Grace. 

I  humbly  assure  Your  Holiness  that  I  issued  my  book 
with  the  fervent  prayer  that  it  would  lead  to  the  emancipation 
of  the  Catholic  people  from  the  domination  of  drunken,  avari- 
cious and  immoral  priests  and  prelates ;  and  that  it  would  de- 
liver the  Church  from  the  adoption  and  pursuit  of  policies 
which  are  antagonistic  to  fundamental  Americanisms.  That 
my  book  will  ultimately  achieve  these  results,  I  confidently 
believe. 

I  am  pleased  to  inform  Your  Holiness  that  my  book  is 
being  circulated  in  ever-increasing  quantities  in  the  United 
States,  Canada  and  Europe.  If  my  unpretentious  publication 


PREFACE.  2O I 

could  but  have  the  patronage  of  Your  Holiness,  how  vastly  en- 
hanced would  be  its  reformatory  influence!  Most  humbly  I 
beseech  Your  Highness  to  grant  to  it  the  Apostolic  blessing. 

I  beg  to  inform  Your  Holiness  that  I  am  hoping  to  be  able 
to  publish  ere  long  translations  of  my  book  in  the  various 
countries  of  Europe.  When  my  arrangements  are  completed 
for  the  publication  of  the  Italian  edition  of  it,  I  shall  humbly 
beg  the  high  honor  of  dedicating  it  to  Your  Holiness. 

I  humbly  call  the  attention  of  Yrour  Holiness  to  the  fact 
that  the  readers  of  my  book  are  adversely  criticizing  the  ec- 
clesiastical authorities  for  ignoring  the  grave  charges  con- 
tained in  it.  They  say  that  if  my  book  were  an  arraignment 
of  the  clergy  of  any  Protestant  sect  by  one  of  its  own  clergy- 
men, the  officials  of  that  sect  would  call  the  author  to  account 
before  the  eyes  of  the  world,  and  that  they  would  say  to  him, 
"Give  the  names  of  these  clerical  sinners  and  prove  your 
charges,  or  we  will  forthwith  expel  you  from  our  communion." 
They  say  that  such  a  course  would  be  pursued  in  any  secret 
order,  such  as  the  Masonic  fraternity,  or  even  in  a  labor  union. 
I  most  humbly  suggest  to  Your  Holiness  that  the  method 
outlined  by  my  readers  is  the  policy  of  conscious  integrity 
everywhere. 

I  humbly  submit  to  Your  Holiness  that  to  treat  with 
silence  the  grave  charges  contained  in  my  book  is  tantamount 
to  a  confession  of  fear  that  they  are  no  idle  tales,  but  that  I 
have  the  proof  to  support  them.  I  humbly  assure  Your  Holi- 
ness that  I  would  welcome  an  opportunity,  open  to  the  eyes  of 
the  world,  to  exhibit  the  proof  which  I  have, — proof  which 
shows  conclusively  that  drunken  and  licentious  priests  and 
prelates  are  ministering  at  our  Altars  and  in  the  Confessional, 
• — proof  that  shows  beyond  a  question  that  in  the  name  of  re- 
ligion the  shepherds  of  the  flocks  are  robbing  the  devoted 
Catholic  people. 

It  is  with  great  sadness  that  I  inform  Your  Holiness  that 
since  the  publication  of  my  book  additional  proof  of  priestly 
and  episcopal  depravity  has  been  daily  accumulating  in  my 


20  J  PREFACE. 

hands.  It  includes  names,  offenses,  places  and  dates.  It  is 
minute  in  its  details  and  appalling  in  its  nastiness.  Clerical 
and  episcopal  hypocrisy,  licentiousness,  drunkenness  and  avar- 
ice are  the  manifestations  of  an  ulcer  which,  is  consuming  the 
vitals  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  America.  This  ulcer  should 
be  removed  by  heroic  measures.  -May  the  Great  Head  of  the 
Church  aid  His  Vicar  to  apply  the  necessary  remedies ! 

That  the  reign  of  Your  Holiness  may  be  numbered  among 
the  most  illustrious  Pontificates  in  the  annals  of  the  Church,  is 
the  prayer  of 

Your  humble  servant  in  Christ, 

JEREMIAH  J.  CROWLEY, 
A  Priest  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Chicago. 

I  deem  it  important  at  this  point  to  direct  the  attention 
of  the  public  to  the  fact  that  I  am  a  priest  in  good  standing 
of  the  Archdiocese  of  Chicago,  as  will  be  seen  by  referring  to 
the  documents  set  forth  on  page  56  of  this  book. 

Priests  and  Prelates  accuse  me  covertly  of  making  false 
accusations:  I  now  state  that  if  my  opponents  can  disprove 
the  charges  in  my  book,  I  will  hand  over  to  them  all  of  the 
plates  of  my  book,  and  I  will  agree  to  stop  its  publication 

forever. 

Non  vale  scd  salve! 

J.  J.  C. 
CHICAGO,  May  1905. 


THE    PAROCHIAL    SCHOOL 

A  Curse  to  the  Church— A  Menace  to  the  Nation. 


CHAPTER   I. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


IN  this  chapter  the  reader  will  find  my  reasons  for  writ- 
ing this  book,  and  a  brief  sketch  of  my  life  to  enable  him  to 
form  an  intelligent  opinion  as  to  the  weight  of  my  words. 

THE  BOOK. 

Catholic  priests  and  prelates  are  determined  to  destroy  the 
American  public  school.  Their  slogan,  (suggested  by  the 
Roman  cry  against  Carthage  in  days  of  old,  "  Delenda  est 
Carthago"),  is,  The  public  school  must  be  destroyed.  The 
Romans  had  in  view  the  maintenance  of  their  commercial  and 
military  supremacy:  the  Catholic  hierarchy  has  in  view  the 
selfish  interests  of  its  priests  and  prelates  and  not  the  true  wel- 
fare of  the  Church  or  State. 

The  Catholic  hierarchy  offers  the  parochial  school  as  a 
substitute  for  the  public  school/  I  shall  deal  in  this  book  with 
the  Catholic  parochial  school  as  it  is,  and  I  shall  show  that  it  is 
a  curse  to  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  and  that  it  is  a  menace 
to  the  Nation. 

/The  utterances  of  the  clerical  champions  of  the  parochial 
school  clearly  show  an  intense  hatred  of  the  public  school — 
an  institution  which  the  American  people  rightfully  regard 
as  one  of  the  greatest  bulwarks  of  their  liberties. 


22  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

I  shall  show  the  general  phases  of  the  settled  clerical  plan 
now  being  carried  out  to  encompass,  if  possible,  the  utter  de- 
struction of  the  American  public  school.  My  information  has 
its  sources  in  personal  experience  and  observation;  conversa- 
tions with  priests  and  prelates ;  the  public  utterances  of  Catholic 
ecclesiastics ;  and  the  history  of  the  school  controversy  which 
has  raged,  with  more  or  less  intensity,  during  many  years. 

I  shall  show  that  the  parochial  school,  as  an  institution 
for  educating  and  training  American  youth,  is  hopelessly  de- 
ficient by  reason  of  the  anti-Americanism  of  its  board  of  edu- 
cation, the  pedagogic  incompetency  and  moral  delinquencies 
of  its  officers,  the  inefficiency  of  its  teachers,  and  the  glaring  de- 
fects in  its  curriculum. 

During  the  year  1903  Bishop  McFaul,  of  Trenton,  New 
Jersey,  Archbishop  Quigley,  of  Chicago,  Illinois,  and  Cardinal 
Gibbons,  of  Baltimore,  Maryland,  three  of  the  most  prominent 
members  of  the  American  hierarchy,  publicly  expressed  senti- 
ments which  are  radically  antagonistic  to  the  American  school 
system.  The  secular  and  religious  press  of  the  continent  free- 
ly quoted  the  utterances  of  these  ecclesiastics,  and  storms  of 
adverse  criticisms  were  aroused.  If  the  course  of  these  pre- 
lates is  pursued  by  the  hierarchy  certain  things  must  inevitably 
follow.  Animosities  will  be  engendered  among  the  American 
people  which  should  have  no  place  in  the  citizenship  of  our 
Republic.  The  Catholic  Church  will  lose  all  of  Her  power 
and  prestige  in  America. 

A  hurricane  of  hate  is  brewing.  I  love  the  Catholic 
Church,  and  to  save  Her  from  destruction  in  America  I  write 
this  book. 

I  shall  use  very  plain  language.  I  am  compelled  to  do 
so  because  I  am  writing  for  all  classes  and  not  solely  for  learned 
men. 

I  shall  not  conceal  the  truth.  In  this  I  but  conform  to 
Catholic  requirements  as  will  be  seen  by  the  quotations  which 
follow. 


INTRODUCTORY.  23 

Pope  Pius  X.  (the  reigning  Pontiff)  said  to  Dr.  Pastor, 
the  celebrated  historian  of  the  Catholic  Church : 

The  truth  is  not  to  be  feared. — The  New  World,  Novem- 
ber 7,  1903,  p.  13. 

Pope  Pius  II.  said  in  a  certain  bull: 

He  who  remarks  anything  calculated  to  give  scandal,  even 
in  the  Supreme  Head  of  the  Church,  is  to  speak  out  freely. — 
Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  272. 

Cardinal  Gibbons  says  that  the  Catholic  Church  has  no 
secrets  to  keep  back : 

There  is  no  Freemasonry  in  the  Catholic  Church ;  she 
has  no  secrets  to  keep  back.  She  has  not  one  set  of  doctrines 
for  Bishops  and  Priests,  and  another  for  the  laity.  She  has 
not  one  creed  for  the  initiated  and  another  for  outsiders.  Ev- 
erything in  the  Catholic  Church  is  open  and  above  board.  She 
has  the  same  doctrines  for  all — for  the  Pope  and  the  peasant. — 
The  Faith  of  our  Fathers,  p.  14. 

Cardinal  Manning  declared  that  truth  in  history  should 
be  supreme : 

The  historica  vcritas  ought  to  be  supreme,  of  which  we 
have  a  divine  example  in  Holy  Writ,  where  the  sins,  even  of 
Saints,  are  as  openly  recorded  as  the  wickedness  of  sinners. 
— Notice  zvritten  for  the  first  volume  of  Dr.  Pastor's  History 
of  the  Popes. 

Dr.  Alzog,  the  renowned  historian  of  the  Catholic  Church, 
stated  that  the  historian  should  not  conceal  the  possible  short- 
comings of  his  church : 

Historical  impartiality  demands  .  .  .  that  the  histor- 
ian .  .  .  shall  frankly  acknowledge  and  openly  confess 
the  possible  shortcomings  of  his  church,  for  silence  here  would 
be  more  damaging  than  beneficial  to  her  cause. — Dr.  Alzog  s 
Manual  of  Universal  Church  History,  Vol.  I,  p.  14. 

The  celebrated  Pere  (Father)  Lacordaire  asserted  that 
history  should  not  hide  the  faults  of  men  and  Orders : 

"  Ought  history,"  asks  Pere  Lacordaire  "  hide  the  faults 
of  men  and  orders?     It  was  not,"  he  replies,  "in  this  sense 


24  ,  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

that  Cardinal  Baronius  understood  his  duty  as  an  historian 
of  the  Church.  It  was  not  after  this  fashion  the  saints  laid 
open  the  scandals  of  their  times.  Truth  when  discreetly  told," 
he  continues,  "is  an  inestimable  boon  to  mankind,  and  to  sup- 
press it,  especially  in  history,  is  an  act  of  cowardice  unworthy 
a  Christian.  Timidity  is  the  fault  of  our  age,  and  truth  is 
concealed  under  pretense  of  respect  for  holy  things.  Such 
concealment  serves  neither  God  nor  man." — Dr.  Alzog's  Man- 
ual of  Universal  Church  History, — the  Preface. 

The  Great  St.  Gregory,  the  revered  Hildebrand  of  the 
Pontifical  Throne,  once  wrote: 

It  is  better  to  have  scandal  than  a  lie. — Homil.  7,  in  Eze- 
chiel,  quoted  by  St.  Bernard. 

Cardinal  Baronius  once  said: 

God  preserve  me  from  betraying  the  truth  rather  than 
betray  the  feebleness  of  some  guilty  minister  of  the  Roman 
Church! — Annales,  ad.  ann.  1125,  c.  12. 

Count  de  Maistre  proclaimed: 

We  owe  to  the  Popes  only  truth,  and  they  have  no  need 
of  anything  else ! — Du  Pape,  lib.  ii.  V.  ij. 

St.  Bernard  said: 

I  would  not  be  silent  when  vice  was  to  be  rebuked,  and 
truth  defended. — Epistola  78,  torn,  i.,  p.  38. 

It  will  be  alleged  by  the  champions  of  the  parochial  school 
that  my  unfavorable  views  of  it  are  founded  upon  unusual 
and  infrequent  facts  of  the  moral  delinquencies  of  its  officers 
and  the  pedagogic  incompetency  of  its  teachers ;  but  I  know 
whereof  I  affirm,  and  I  solemnly  declare  that  I  am  conservative 
in  my  statements. 

There  is  not  a  diocese  or  an  archdiocese  in  America  which 
has  not  priestly  devotees  of  Bacchus  and  Venus — wine  and 
women — and  in  the  prominent  dioceses  and  archdioceses  there 
are  scores  upon  scores  of  ecclesiastics  who  are  the  slaves  of 
these  goddesses.  But  the  universal  ecclesiastical  vice  is  graft- 
ing. The  American  clergy,  high  and  low,  exhibit  an  insatiable 


INTRODUCTORY.  2$ 

desire  for  money.  They  seek  and  obtain  it  in  the  sacred  name 
of  religion — for  God  and  Holy  Mother  Church!  Many  of 
the  means  they  employ  to  secure  it  are  not  only  questionable 
but  criminal.  Instead  of  preaching  the  Gospel  of  Christ 
they  proclaim  the  message  of  mammon.  The  money  acquired 
is  spent,  in  the  main,  in  the  service  of  Satan. 

It  is  impossible  for  those  who  are  not  prelates,  priests, 
monks  or  nuns  to  know  how  much  sin  there  is  in  ecclesiastical 
circles.  It  is  not  difficult  for  me  to  understand  how  hard  it 
must  be  for  non-Catholics  to  believe  that  individuals,  dedicated 
to  the  service  of  God  by  most  solemn  vows,  can  live  in  daily 
violation  of  their  sacred  covenants,  and  I  know  how  extremely 
loath  Catholics  are  to  give  credence  to  any  report  of  clerical 
misconduct,  no  matter  how  well  founded,  as  they  have  been 
trained  from  infancy  to  regard  a  priest  as  a  holy  man — another 
Christ. 

Policemen,  railway  and  street  car  conductors,  steamship 
officers,  hotel  proprietors,  waiters,  porters  #nd  cabmen  know 
that  I  do  not  exaggerate  in  my  descriptions  of  clerical  sin. 
Hardly  a  day  goes  by  in  our  great  cities  that  policemen  do 
not  pick  up  drunken  priests  an4  also  take  them  out  of  houses 
of  shame.  Railway  conductors  from  all  parts  of  America  tell 
me  that  Catholic  priests  are  among  their  toughest  passengers. 
Steamship  officers  relate  tales  which  make  the  heart  sick.  Ho- 
tel proprietors,  waiters  and  porters  tell  facts  which  for  numer- 
ousness  and  nastiness  defy  comparison.  If  policemen  would 
suddenly  become  authors  and  tell  what  they  know  of  sinning 
priests  the  world  would  hardly  be  able  to  contain  the  books. 
Cabmen,  the  knights  of  the  whip,  have  as  their  most  profitable 
customers  clerical  rounders,  the  knights  of  the  cloth,  whose 
chivalry  vents  itself  in  attentions  to  ladies  who  live  in  houses 
of  shame.  Catholic  prelates  understand  full  well  the  personal 
knowledge  which  these  various  individuals  and  others  possess 
of  priestly  debauchery. 

I  know  that  the  conditions  are  appalling  in  the  Archdio- 
cese of  Chicago.  I  have  been  assured  by  an  American  Arch- 


26  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

bishop, .  whose  former  ecclesiastical  positions  ought  to  enable 
him  to  speak  with  the  authority  of  personal  observation  and 
experience,  that  the  conditions  in  Buffalo,  New  York  City 
and  other  places  are  many  times  worse  than  they  are  in  Chi- 
cago. If  he  were  to  speak  to-day  I  believe  he  would  say,  in 
view  of  the  additional  light  he  has  received  on  the  Chicago 
situation,  that  New  York  City  and  Chicago  are  equals  in  ec- 
clesiastical rascality. 

I  am  well  aware  that  this  book  will  arouse  the  intense  wrath 
of  Catholic  ecclesiastics,  who  hate  the  American  public  schools. 
Be  it  so !  In  this  connection,  Catholic  laymen,  permit  me  to 
warn  you  against  being  deceived  by  the  official  Catholic  press. 
It  will  bitterly  assail  me.  Its  columns  will  be  filled  with  vili- 
fication and  vituperation.  But  who  control  the  official  Cath- 
olic press?  Priests,  Bishops  and  Archbishops  as*  a  rule. 
These  men  will  unite  in  bitter  opposition  to  any  publicity  of 
sin.  The  editors  of  the  official  Catholic  publications  are  under 
the  thumb  of  ecclesiastical  power.  Woe  to  them  if  they  show 
any  independence  of  thought  and  action !  I  have  been  grossly 
slandered  in  official  Catholic  publications,  while  in  private  my 
detractors  have  admitted  that  I  was  right  in  my  course.  This 
expose  will  bring  upon  my  head  torrents  of  written  wrath  from 
men  who  know  that  I  reveal  but  a  small  part  of  the  awful  case 
in  hand ;  but  these  same  writers  in  private  conversation  will  be 
heard  to  say :  "  O,  Father  Crowley,  God  bless  him !  is  all  right, 
but  we  have  got  to  stand  in  with  the  authorities;  we  have  to 
look  out  for  our  bread  and  butter." 

My  opponents  will  seek  to  befog  the  issue  raised  in  this 
controversy  by  charging  me  with  making  attacks  in  this  book 
upon  my  Church.  In  answer  to  this  anticipated  malignant  ac- 
cusation I  say  now  that  /  do  not  attack  my  Church;  I  attack 
solely  its  corrupt  ecclesiastics.  I  am  not  fighting  my  Church 
and  never  will.  /  am  fighting  priestly  corruption,  and  I  will 
nght  it  as  long  as  God  permits  me  to  live. 

My  opponents  will  also  say  that  I  am  attacking  Christian 
education.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  I  am  not  attacking 


INTRODUCTORY.  27 

Christian  education,  but  that  I  am  dealing  with  the  parochial 
school  as  it  is  in  America.  I  make  war  not  upon  the  theory 
of  Christian  education,  but  upon  the  present  practice,  for  the 
latter,  under  prevalent  conditions,  is  devilish. 

The  cry  will  be  raised  that  by  this  publication  I  am  giving 
scandal.  My  opponents  will  seek  to  blind  the  Catholic  public 
by  this  false  cry.  Let  the  Catholic  people  remember  that  it 
is  the  only  answer  left  to  the  debauched  priests  whose  wicked- 
ness I  expose.  The  scandalizers  of  our  Holy  Church  are 
not  the  men  who  protest  against  clerical  impurity,  falsehood 
and  injustice;  but  they  are  the  ecclesiastics  whose  lives  are 
rotten,  and  the  Church  dignitaries  who  try  to  cloak  the  rotten- 
ness. 

Some  of  the  grossest  of  the  clerical  sinners  referred  to 
in  this  book  have  been  publicly  arraigned  by  name.  When 
this  book  becomes  public  property  I  look  to  see  them  adopt  a 
much-abused  attitude.  They  have  already  expatiated  upon  the 
hardship  of  their  position  in  not  being  able  to  say  a  word  in 
self-defense  until  the  charges  are  proved ! !  If  they  were  anx- 
ious to  have  the  charges  proved,  why  did  they  not  ask  Rome 
to  thoroughly  investigate  them?  But  there  was  no  difficulty 
in  the  way  of  their  appealing  to  the  civil  courts,  and  they  did 
not.  They  knew  there  were  laws  in  this  country  to  protect 
the  slandered.  Were  there  not  penitentiaries  for  criminal  li- 
belers  ?  Yes,  there  were,  but  those  penitentiaries  were  also  for 
clerical  thieves,  adulterers,  rapists,  seductionists  and  sodomists. 

One  of  the  first  copies  of  this  book  will  be  sent  to  the  Pope. 
I  hope  that  the  Pontiff,  as  soon  as  he  is  acquainted  with  the 
real  condition  of  the  public  school  controversy  in  America, 
will  decree  a  policy  for  American  priests  and  prelates  which 
shall  be  in  entire  harmony  with  American  history  and  ideals. 

THE  AUTHOR. 

Yielding  to  the  insistence  of  my  friends  and  advisers  I 
insert  this  biographical  sketch,  not  for  any  self-laudation,  but 


28  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

to  enable  my  readers  to  see  what  manner  of  man  I  am  so  that 
they  may  form  an  intelligent  opinion  as  to  the  weight  of  my 
words,  and  also  that  a  stop  may  be  put  to  a  gross  imposition 
which  is  being  practiced  all  over  the  country  by  wicked  priests 
who  assume  my  name  when  they  are  arrested  by  the  police, 
and  when  they  ask  for  financial  help.  To  aid  in  carrying  out 
these  objects  this  book  contains  my  photograph,  and  I  state 
now  that  my  height  is  six  feet  and  three  inches,  and  my  weight 
is  two.  hundred  and  fifty  pounds. 

I  was  born  November  20,  1861,  in  County  Cork,  Ireland — 
"  The  Island  of  Saints  and  Scholars."  My  parents 
were  of  Celto-Norman  stock  and  belonged  to  the  plain  people. 
My  father  was  a  farmer  of  means.  He  died  July  7,  1904. 
My  mother's  maiden  name  was  Nora  Burke.  She  died  a  few 
minutes  after  my  birth,  while  I  was  being  baptized,  she  having 
received  the  last  rites  of  the  church.  My  father  thought  I 
could  not  live,  and  immediately  before  the  priest  pronounced 
the  words  of  baptism  he  made  an  offering  of  me  to  the  priest- 
hood in  the  hope  that  God  would  graciously  spare  my  life. 

When  I  was  about  five  years  of  age  I  was  sent  to  the  Na- 
tional (primary)  School.  When  I  was  seven  years  of  age  I 
became  an  altar  boy,  and  so  continued  until  I  was  fourteen 
years  old,  when  I  was  sent  from  my  native  parish  to  Bantry 
for  better  educational  advantages.  I  staid  a  year  in  Bantry, 
and  I  was  then  sent  to  the  Model  School  at  Dunmanway,  where 
I  remained  nine  months.  I  was  then  sent  for  three  months  to 
the  Classical  School  at  Skibbereen.  When  I  was  sixteen  years 
of  age  I  was  sent  to  St.  Finnbarr's  College,  Cork,  where  I  re- 
mained four  years.  I  passed  the  required  examination,  and 
was  sent  to  St.  Patrick's  College  (Seminary),  Carlow,  County 
Carlow  (this  being  the  oldest  Catholic  College  (Seminary) 
extant  in  Ireland),  where  I  remained  four  years  and  a  half, 
and  completed  the  prescribed  classical,  philosophical  and  theo- 
logical courses. 

I  was  ordained  a  priest  of  the  Catholic  Church  on  the  I5th 
day  of  June,  1886,  for  my  native  diocese  of  Cork.  My  father 


INTRODUCTORY.  2Q 

paid  full  tuition  rates  for  my  education  from  the  time  I  en- 
tered the  primary  school  until  my  ordination. 

My  earliest  thoughts  were  associated  with  the  expectation 
that  I  would  some  day  be  a  priest  in  the  Holy  Catholic  Church 
and  could  stand  at  her  sacred  altars  to  offer  up  the  Holy  Sacri- 
fice of  the  Mass  for  the  repose  of  the  soul  of  my  dear  mother, 
whom  I  had  never  seen. 

My  relatives,  friends  and  neighbors  expressed  no  other 
thought  for  me  than  that  I  was  destined  to  be  a  priest.  When 
I  was  at  St.  Finnbarr's  College,  being  nineteen  years  of  age 
at  the  time,  my  father  came  to  see  me,  and  to  test  the  sincerity 
of  my  vocation  to  the  priesthood  he  said  to  me,  "  A  priest  has 
a  great  many  trials  and  troubles ;  if  you  would  prefer  to  follow 
some  secular  profession,  there  is  the  Queen's  College  (Univer- 
sity), I  am  willing  that  you  should  enter  it  now!  "  I  replied, 
"  No,  father,  I  have  but  one  desire  in  life,  and  that  is  to  be  a 
priest."  My  father  expressed  great  joy  over  my  reply,  and 
he  was  supremely  delighted  to  learn  that  I  was  blessed  with  a 
vocation. 

I  said  my  first  Mass  in  my  father's  house.  I  was  ordained 
Tuesday  morning,  and  I  traveled  all  night  to  reach  the  home 
where  I  was  born  that  I  might  there  offer  up  my  first  Mass 
for  the  eternal  repose  of  the  soul  of  my  mother. 

From  boyhood  I  had  the  desire  to  go  to  America  when  I 
became  a  priest.  Many  of  my  friends  had  gone  to  the  United 
States.  I  was  ordained  for  the  Diocese  of  Cork,  but  there 
was  no  vacancy  in  it,  and  I  said  Mass  for  some  weeks  as  pri- 
vate chaplain  to  Bishop  Delaney  of  Cork.  The  opportunity 
to  go  to  America  came  to  me  then  through  the  Very  Rev.  E. 
M.  O'Callaghan,  now  Vicar-General  of  the  Diocese  of  Man- 
chester, New  Hampshire,  and  the  Right  Rev.  Monsignor  D. 
W.  Murphy,  of  Dover,  New  Hampshire.  The  Coadjutor  Bish- 
op of  Cork  gave  me  his  permission  to  go  to  America  on  a 
temporary  mission,  and  he  wrote  me  the  following  letter: 


30  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

Cork,  November  7th,  1886. 
My  Dear  Father  Crowley: 

I  am  glad  you  have  taken  the  Mission  offered  you  through 
the  kindness  of  Father  O'Callaghan. 

You  may  expect  a  hearty  welcome  from  me  on  your  re- 
turn. ,7  . 

Yours  faithfully, 

f  T.  A.  O'Callaghan, 

Coadjutor  Bishop. 
My  kindest  regards  to  Father  O'Callaghan. 

I  also  bore  the  following  letters : 

St.  Patrick's  College,  Carlow,  Ireland,  June  21,  1886. 
I  feel  happy  in  testifying  to  the  excellent  character  borne 
by  Rev.  Jeremiah  J.  Crowley  during  such  time  as  I  have  had 
the  pleasure  of  knowing  him  in  this  college.  In  matters  of 
discipline  he  was  regular  and  attentive ;  in  the  discharge  of  his 
duties  diligent ;  and  in  every  branch  manifested  quite  an  anx- 
iety to  give  satisfaction.  His  conduct  while  here  affords  ev- 
ery reason  to  believe  that  his  future  will  be  characterized  by  the 
same  good  qualities^ 

(Rev.)  John  Delaney,  Dean. 

St.  Patrick's  College,  Carlow,  Ireland,  July  2,  1886. 
Previous  to  his  ordination  to  the  priesthood  last  Pente- 
cost the  Rev.  Jeremiah  J.  Crowley  had  spent  four  and  a  half 
years  in  this  college.  He  read  rhetoric,  moral  philosophy,  and 
three  years  theology  with  credit  to  himself.  His  moral  con- 
duct was  always  edifying,  and  I  have  every  reason  to  hope 
that  he  will  be  a  most  zealous,  useful  and  pious  priest. 

(Very  Rev.)  Edward  W.  Burke,  D.  D. 
President. 

When  I  reached  America  I  was  appointed  assistant  rector 
of  St.  Anne's  Church,  Manchester,  New  Hampshire,  which 
was  the  mensal  parish  of  the  late  Bishop  Denis  M.  Bradley. 
I  staid  there  sixteen  months,  when  my  time  for  returning  to 
Ireland  came  in  obedience  to  my  promise  to  the  Bishop  of 
Cork. 

As  to  the  manner  in  which  I  had  discharged  my  priestly 
duties  in  Manchester,  I  quote  the  following  letters: 


INTRODUCTORY.  3! 

Manchester,  N.  H.,  April  2,  1888. 
My  Dear  Father  Crowley: 

In  acceding  to  your  request  to  be  permitted  to  return  to 
your  own  Diocese,  I  cannot  refrain  from  assuring  you  of  my 
gratitude  for  your  labors  in  my  Diocese  during  the  sixteen 
months  that  you  have  labored  therein.  You  have  always  and 
under  all  circumstances  carried  yourself  in  a  manner  becom- 
ing a  good  priest.  ,7  ,  „ 

Yours  respectfully, 

•(•  Denis  M.  Bradley, 

Bishop  of  Manchester. 

Manchester,  N.  H.,  April  3,  1888. 
To  Rt.  Rev.  Dr.  O'Callaghan, 

Bishop  of  Cork. 
Right  Rev.  and  Dear  Sir : 

The  bearer,  Rev.  Jeremiah  J.  Crowley,  a  priest  of  your 
Lordship's  Diocese,  has  exercised  the  sacred  ministry  in  my 
Diocese  during  the  past  sixteen  months.  He  returns  to  his 
home  at  his  own  earnest  solicitation. 

I  beg  leave  to  add  that  he  has  given  me  entire  satisfaction 
during  the  time  that  he  has  been  subject  to  my  jurisdiction. 

Yours  very  respectfully, 

f  Denis  M.  Bradley. 

I  make  the  following  quotations  from  the  non-Catholic  and 
the  Catholic  press  of  Manchester  to  show  how  I  was  regarded 
by  all  classes.  Neither  directly  nor  indirectly  had  I  anything 
to  do  with  the  writing  of  the  articles. 

The  Manchester  Daily  Union,  March  28,  1888. 

A  SAD  OCCASION. 

THE  REV.  FATHER  CROWLEY  TO  LEAVE  MANCHESTER  FOR  IRE- 
LAND. 

Rev.  Father  J.  J.  Crowley,  the  able  assistant  pastor  at 
St.  Ann's  Church  for  some  time,  is  to  leave  Manchester  for 
Ireland  on  Wednesday  next,  and  in  all  probability  will  sever 
his  permanent  relationship  with  this  city  for  all  time.  On 
Friday  evening  last  he  delivered  a  farewell  sermon,  taking  for 
his  text  the  following  words :  "  Seek  first  the  Kingdom  of 
God  and  His  Justice."  There  was  a  very  large  congregation 
in  attendance,  and  after  an  eloquent  discourse  upon  the  above 
text  the  Reverend  Father  took  occasion  to  thank  the  people 


32  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

for  their  kindness,  goodness  and  respect  toward  him  during 
the  sixteen  months  he  had  spent  among  them.  .  .  The  entire 
congregation  sobbed  aloud  and  heard  with  sadness  the  fare- 
well words  of  him  they  had  learned  to  love  and  esteem. 

The  Manchester  Daily  Union,  April  2,  1888. 

WARM  HEARTED  FATHER  CROWLEY. 

HE  RECEIVES  MANY  EVIDENCES  OF  ESTEEM. 

OVERWHELMED  WITH  KINDNESS — EXPRESSIONS  OF  REGRETS. 

Since  the  announcement  was  made  that  Rev.  J.  J.  Crow- 
ley,  assistant  pastor  of  St.  Ann's  Church,  intended  to  dis- 
solve his  official  relations  in  this  country  and  return  to  Ire- 
land to  accept  a  position  in  the  Diocese  of  Cork,  he  has  been 
overwhelmed  with  callers  who  have  waited  upon  him  to  ex- 
press their  regrets  because  of  his  intended  departure,  and  to 
wish  him  the  choicest  of  blessings  in  all  time  to  come.  .  . 
Among  Protestants  also  he  is  highly  esteemed,  and  among 
people  of  all  manner  of  beliefs  and  callings  there  is  but  one 
sentiment,  and  that  of  regret  because  of  his  going  away.  Un- 
numbered kindnesses  have  been  heaped  upon  him  within  the 
last  few  days.  .  .  Father  Crowley  leaves  Manchester  on 
Wednesday  afternoon  next,  but  will  pass  several  weeks  in  the 
principal  cities  of  America  before  sailing  for  the  "  Isle  of 
Saints." 

The  New  Hampshire  Catholic,  March  31,  1888. 

It  is  safe  to  say  that  no  priest  captured  the  affections  of 
the  Catholics  of  this  city  so  completely,  in  so  short  a  time, 
as  Father  Crowley  has  done.  There  is  nothing  small  about 
him.  .  .  In  the  zeal  with  which  he  discharged  his  priestly 
duties  he  could  not  be  surpassed.  He  is  a  model  specimen  of 
the  Soggarth  Aroon  (dear  priest)  and  quickly  and  thoroughly 
the  people  perceived  the  fact.  Utterly  devoted  to  his  sacred 
calling  he  is  also  a  staunch  Nationalist,  and  is  heart  and  soul 
in  sympathy  with  the  cause  of  Home  Rule  for  his  beloved  na- 
tive land.  .  . 

The  New  Hampshire  Catholic,  April  7,  1888. 

About  three  o'clock  Wednesday  afternoon  the  depot  began 
filling  up  with  people,  most  of  whom  were  not  in  travelling 
garb,  and  very  many  had  evidently  come  from  the  mills  to  at- 
tend the  train.  It  was  quite  apparent  that  all  eyes  were 


INTRODUCTORY.  33 

turned  on  one  person,  a  stalwart  young-  clergyman,  who  tow- 
ered head  and  shoulders  over  the  throng.  There  was 
no  mistaking  the  earnest  and  kindly  features  of  Father  Crow- 
ley,  who  had  his  hands  full  to  bid  good  bye  to  the  sorrowful 
friends  who  came  to  see  him  off  .  .  There  were  few  dry  eyes 
in  the  throng.  .  .  In  the  brief  period  of  sixteen  months  he 
has  been  in  this  city,  Father  Crowley  has  captured  and  bears 
back  with  him  to  the  diocese  of  Cork  to  which  he  belongs  the 
esteem  and  affection  of  our  people  from  the  head  of  the  Dio- 
cese down. 

I  arrived  in  Ireland  about  the  middle  of  June,  1888,  and 
September  20  I  was  appointed  assistant  pastor  at  West  Schull 
(Goleen),  County  Cork,  Ireland.  I  served  in  this  place  until 
March,  1892.  This  parish  was  about  twenty  miles  long  and 
seven  wide,  and  it  was  inhabited  principally  by  tenant  farmers. 
During  this  time  I  was  imprisoned  seven  months  in  Her  Ma- 
jesty's prison  in  Cork  for  the  heinous  offense  of  having  suc- 
cored Mr.  Samuel  Townsend  Bailey,  a  Protestant  gentleman, 
seventy  years  of  age  and  stone  blind,  who  had  been  deprived, 
on  a  mere  legal  technicality,  of  his  estate  by  the  clergy  of  his 
own  Church,  and  turned  out  upon  the  roadside  without  money, 
food  or  shelter.  As  my  enemies  charge  that  I  was  once  in 
jail  because  of  some  grave  violation  of  the  law,  in  the  palpable 
hope  of  discrediting  me  with  the  public,  I  am  constrained  to 
give  the  details  of  this  incident,  for  on  it  they  found  their  base 
slander.  They  have  circulated  the  tale  at  home  and  abroad 
that  I  was  "such  a  devil"  that 'the  British  Government  was 
compelled  to  lock  me  up  to  protect  the  public. 

In  the  year  1847,  which  was  the  famine  year  in  Ireland, 
Mr.  Bailey,  a  Protestant,  was  in  the  possession  of  a  comfort- 
able estate,  which  afforded  him  a  substantial  stone  residence 
and  an  adequate  income.  Most  of  his  tenants  died  of  starva- 
tion during  the  famine,  and  he  was  deprived  of  his  income. 
Mr.  Bailey's  Protestant  Rector  was  a  Rev.  Mr.  Fisher,  whose 
assistant  was  a  Rev.  Mr.  Hopley.  The  people  were  starving 
and  dying  all  around,  and  Rev.  Fisher  wrote  to  Protestant 
societies  and  individuals  in  England,  telling  them  that  if  he 


34  THE   PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

had  money  to  buy  food  for  the  people  he  cculd  convert  all  the 
Catholics.  Money  poured  in  upon  him.  He  called  upon  Mr. 
Bailey,  who  was  his  chief  parishioner,  sympathized  with  him 
and  offered  him  financial  aid,  which  Mr.  Bailey  was  very  glad 
to  get.  Rev.  Fisher  then  went  home  for  the  money;  he  re- 
turned with  it  and  also  a  shrewdly  drawn  assignment  of  Mr. 
Bailey's  property  to  the  church  trustees,  the  assignment  to  take 
effect  after  the  lives  of  three  individuals  and  thirty-three  years 
(which  finally  proved  to  be  a  term  of  about  forty  years),  which 
assignment  he  wanted  as  a  mere  formality  in  case  his  generous 
friends  in  England  should  ever  question  his  handling  of  the 
funds.  Rev.  Fisher  died  before  my  return  to  Ireland,  and  he 
was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Hopley.  Rev.  Hopley  wanted  to  get 
Mr.  Bailey's  stone  residence  and  its  adjoining  five  acres  for 
a  woman  who  was  then  his  maid-servant,  and  he  urged  the 
church  trustees  to  commence  legal  proceedings  to  evict  Mr. 
Bailey.  The  case  was  fought  during  three  terms  of  court. 
The  Judge  kept  putting  off  the  delivery  of  his  decision  in  the 
hope  that  the  church  authorities  would  see  what  a  harsh  enter- 
prise they  were  engaged  in,  and  relent.  He  finally  pronounced 
judgment,  and,  on  a  technicality,  was  forced  to  hold  against 
Mr.  Bailey. 

Mr.  Bailey  in  despair  turned  to  me,  having  heard  of  my 
championship  of  the  civil  rights  of  Protestants  as  well  as  of 
Catholics  in  that  district.  His  son  came  to  see  me.  I  said, 
"  Before  I  attempt  to  do  anything  I  must  see  your  father's 
tenants  and  learn  from  them  whether  he  has  been  a  kind  land- 
lord." In  a  few  days  the  tenants  came  to  me  in  a  body,  and 
told  me  that  old  Mr.  Bailey  had  been  a  most  indulgent  land- 
lord. I  then  said,  "  It  is  the  duty  of  Christians  of  all  denomi- 
nations to  come  to  his  rescue."  I  then  asked  if  anyone  present 
would  give  a  site  for  a  hut  (a  little  frame  cottage)  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Bailey  homestead.  Mr.  Thomas  Donovan,  a 
Protestant  farmer,  gave  a  site  right  across  the  road  from  Mr. 
Bailey's  stone  residence.  There  was  a  vacant  hut  ten  miles 
away,  and  I  called  for  volunteers  to  transport  that  building 


INTRODUCTORY.  35 

forthwith  and  put  it  on  the  new  site.  Within  twenty-four 
hours  the  hut  was  transferred  to  the  new  location,  and  above 
it  I  had  placed  two  flags,  one  green  and  the  other  orange.  Be- 
fore the  erection  of  the  hut  a  fair  rental  was  tendered  on  behalf 
of  Mr.  Bailey  for  the  stone  house  and  five  acres,  but  it  was 
refused. 

A  few  days  later  a  force  of  bailiffs  and  police  evicted  the 
blind  old  man  and  his  family,  and  threw  them  "  on  the  road- 
side." Word  was  sent  to  me  and  I  hastened  to  the  seat  of 
difficulty.  There  I  found  the  blind  and  helpless  old  man  sit- 
ting on  the  roadside ;  I  took  him  by  the  hand  and  led  him  into 
the  hut,  his  aged  wife  and  son  following. 

Rev.  Mr.  Hopley  was  insanely  maddened  by  the  presence 
of  the  hut  and  its  occupants  in  such  close  proximity  to  the  old 
homestead,  and  to  his  own  home,  which  was  about  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  distant.  The  Tory  Government  trumped  up  against 
me  a  charge  of  intimidation;  I  was  arrested;  and,  under  a  re- 
vived statute,  passed  in  the  reign  of  George  the  Third,  I  was 
"  tried,"  not  before  the  ordinary  and  usual  tribunal,  but  be- 
fore two  "  Removable  "  Magistrates — paid  government  offi- 
cials. My  conviction  was  a  foregone  conclusion  from  the  be- 
ginning. 

My  prosecution  was  the  subject  of  many  editorials.  I  give 
a  few  excerpts. 

Eagle  and  County  Cork  Advertiser,  Ireland,  June  28,   1890. 
THE  PROSECUTION  OF  FATHER  CROWLEY. 

When  the  history  of  Ireland  comes  to  be  written  up  to  date, 
no  more  extraordinary  event  will  present  itself  to  the  writer 
than  that  which  has  occurred  in  West  Cork  during  the  past 
few  days.  If  the  historian  does  his  work  faithfully,  both  the 
Land  League  and  the  National  League  will  occupy  prominent 
places  in  historical  records.  To  the  agrarian  question  of  the 
present  day  much  time  and  thought  will  be  devoted,  but  in  no 
event  from  the  Clanricarde  evictions,  from  the  founding  of 
New  Tipperary,  down  to  the  most  trivial  affair,  will  be  found 
such  an  episode  as  that  which  presented  itself  at  Goleen  on 
last  Sunday.  No  less  than  eight  Protestant  families  changed 


36  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

their  religion,  and  joined  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  to  show 
and  prove  their  indignation  at  the  conduct  of  their  own  pastor, 

the  Rev.  Mr.  Hopley Out  of  Bailey's  eviction  and 

the  threat  to  remove  Donovan  for  an  act  of  kindness  have 
arisen  the  proceedings  which  terminated  on  Wednesday  in  the 
conviction  of  Father  Crowley  under  the  Crimes  Act.  .  . 

The  Cork  Daily  Herald  of  June  26,  1890. 

Yesterday  Mr.  Cecil  Roche  (one  of  the  two  presiding 
magistrates)  consummated  the  outrage  which  he  was  sent  to 
West  Cork  to  perpetrate.  At  the  conclusion  of  a  farcical  trial, 
during  the  course  of  which  it  was  quite  easy  to  see  that  the 
Bench  meant  to  convict,  a  most  outrageous  sentence  was  passed 
on  Father  Crowley,  of  Goleen.  Seven  months'  imprisonment 
is  what  is  awarded  against  Father  Crowley  for  taking  the  side 
of  the  poor  Protestants  of  Teampeall-na-bo'ct  against  their 
evictors  and  persecutors.  Father  Crowley  denounced  these 
people.  He  made  public  charges  against  a  parson  and  against 
a  policeman  which  these  persons  could  have  got  investigated  by 
means  of  a  civil  action.  They  did  not  do  so.  The  fact  that 
the  paid  Castle  (Government)  magistrates  have  come  down, 
and  in  violation  of  the  spirit  of  the  law  and  of  all  constitutional 
usages  have  sent  Father  Crowley  to  gaol  for  seven  months 
does  little  to  better  their  position.  We  have  no  doubt  that 
this  "  trial  "  of  Father  Crowley  will  receive  immediate  atten- 
tion in  Parliament.  The  sentence  is  not  only  abominable  and 
vindictive  in  itself,  but  it  is  a  deliberate  evasion  of  the  law 
which  gives  every  subject  the  right  of  appeal  from  every  sen- 
tence of  over  a  month's  duration  in  Ireland,  and  from  all 
sentences  whatsoever  in  England.  .  . 

His  imprisonment  is,  in  every  respect,  a  misfortune  for 
his  locality.  In  the  poor  district  of  Goleen  he  has  been  a 
peacemaker  of  a  model  type  between  landlords  and  tenants, 
and  both  classes  are  equally  thankful  to  him.  The  fact  that  he 
interfered  in  favour  of  Protestant  as  well  as  Catholic  proves 
the  spirit  of  broad-mindedness  in  which  he  approached  his 
work.  It  was  not  because  the  parson  sided  with  the  evictors 
of  one  of  his  own  flock  that  his  mouth  was  to  remain  closed, 
and  it  did  not  remain  closed.  For  what  arose  out  of  his  thus 
championing  the  oppressed  he  goes  to  goal.  .  . 

We  simply  say  that  under  the  circumstances  a  prosecu- 


S     V    OT 

(•VM»V6R» 

Y^  »=*£ 

""--  .--.--  '  ' 


INTRODUCTORY  »=  3? 

""--  .--.--  mf 

tion  on  an  absurd  charge  was  a  gross  misuse  of  public  author- 
ity and  a  scandal  on  the  administration  of  justice. 

The  Cork  Examiner  of  June  26,  1890. 

The  remarkable  prosecution  at  Bantry  came  to  an  end 
yesterday,  when  the  sentence  demanded  by  Mr.  Ronan,  Q.  C, 
(Crown  Prosecutor)  was  imposed  on  the  defendant,  the  Rev. 
Jeremiah  J.  Crowley,  the  popular  young  curate  of  the  parish 
of  Goleen.  .  . 

Seeing  the  nature  of  the  charge  and  the  constitution  of  the 
Court,  the  result  can  have  surprised  no  one.  But  it  is  a 
strange  prosecution,  arising  out  of  very  exceptional  circum- 
stances and  connected  with  some  very  curious  occurrences.  .  . 
A  sentence  of  savage  severity  is  imposed  on  this  young  and 
blameless  clergyman.  That  severity  will  assuredly  defeat  its 
own  purpose.  The  immense  popularity  of  Father  Crowley  in 
West  Cork  was  demonstrated  in  Schull  and  Bantry  in  a  way 
that  must  have  impressed  Mr.  Cecil  Roche.  Even  before  the 
trial  the  feelings  of  the  people  with  regard  to  the  prosecution 
and  the  conduct  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hopley  were  exhibited  in  a 
perfectly  startling  and  unprecedented  fashion.  Up  to  eight 
Protestant  families  left  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hopley's  congregation 
and  joined  the  Catholic  Church. 

The  incident  proves,  at  all  events,  that  even  among  the 
Protestants  of  his  district  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hopley  has  lost  his 
influence  through  his  interference  with  tenants  like  Bailey  and 
Donovan  (both  Protestants)  and  that  the  young  priest  has 
won  the  affections  of  Protestants  and  Catholics  alike  by  his 
generous  and  practical  sympathy  with  the  poor  and  the  op- 
pressed. Removables  Welch  and  Roche  are,  perhaps,  of  opin- 
ion that  Father  Crowley's  influence  in  his  district  will  not  sur- 
vive a  term  of  imprisonment,  and  that  the  National  League 
must  cease  to  exist  west  of  Bantry.  On  the  contrary,  Father 
Crowley's  sufferings  in  their  cause  will  but  render  him  ten 
times  dearer  to  the  hearts  of  the  people  and  make  ten  times 
stronger  their  resolve  to  overthrow  a  system  under  which  the 
imprisonment  of  a  young  and  kindly  clergyman  becomes  a 
necessity  of  State. 

West  Cork  is  the  western  half  of  County  Cork,  and  is 
about  sixty  miles  long  by  thirty  wide. 


38  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

The  details  of  my  journey  to  gaol  were  given  in  extended 
press  notices  at  that  time.  I  quote  briefly  from  one  of  them : 

Eagle  and  County  Cork  Advertiser,  June  28,  1890. 
THE  JOURNEY  TO  CORK. 

At  half  past  six  o'clock  Father  Crowley  was  driven  from 
the  police  barrack  in  a  covered  car  to  the  railway  station,  ac- 
companied by  a  strong  escort,  and  followed  by  a  large  cheer- 
ing crowd.  Cordons  of  police  were  stationed  at  all  approaches 
to  the  station,  and  allowed  to  pass  only  those  who  were  travel- 
ing by  train.  A  large  crowd,  however,  by  climbing  over  the 
walls  and  ditches,  succeeded  in  reaching  the  road  outside  the 
station,  but  their  progress  to  the  platform  was  barred  by  a 
strong  force  of  police  drawn  across  the  entrance.  At  the  sta- 
tion, District-Inspector  Smyth  was  in  charge  of  a  body  of  po- 
lice and  a  great  portion  of  the  crowd  was  prevented  from  enter- 
ing the  railway  premises,  but  they  soon  fringed  the  line  and 
cheered  the  Rev.  prisoner  loudly.  Father  Crowley's  brother 
clergymen  were  allowed  on  the  platform,  and  he  had  many  a 
hearty  handshake  before  the  train  started.  District-Inspector 
Stewart,  Kinsale,  was  in  charge  of  Father  Crowley,  who  was 
accommodated  in  a  first-class  compartment,  and  the  body- 
guard consisted  of  four  policemen.  ~  In  a  third-class  carriage 
a  dozen  policemen  traveled,  while  the  fifty  soldiers  of  the 
Welch  Regiment,  who  had  been  on  duty,  also  returned  to  Cork 
by  the  train.  As  the  train  moved  off  the  Rev.  gentleman  was 
followed  by  the  enthusiastic  cheers  of  those  gathered  on  the 
platform,  and  which  were  vigorously  echoed  by  those  outside. 
At  the  stations  en  route  to  Cork — Drimoleague,  Dunmanway, 
Ballineen,  Enniskean,  etc.,  crowds  cheered  Father  Crowley  en- 
thusiastically, and  bonfires  were  lighting  as  the  train  steamed 
by. 

POLICE  VIOLENCE  AT  BANDON. 

In  Bandon  the  whole  populace  appeared  to  have  turned 
out,  headed  by  the  town  band,  but  at  the  gates  of  the  station 
they  were  met  by  a  body  of  police  under  the  command  of  Mr. 
Gardiner,  R.  M.,  who  had  traveled  from  Cork  by  the  evening 
train.  He  at  once  ordered  the  police  to  charge  the  people, 
and  the  batonmen  obeyed  the  order  with  alacrity.  The  bands- 
men were  beaten  and  the  instruments  seized.  On  the  plat- 
form priests,  Town  Commissioners,  shareholders  of  the  line, 


INTRODUCTORY.  39 

railway  porters  and  all  were  hustled  and  shoved  about,  and 
the  police  did  all  they  could  to  provoke  a  row.  When  the 
train  arrived  Mr.  Gardiner's  excitement  was  intense,  and  he 
rushed  from  carriage  to  carriage  shouting  out  for  military  and 
police  as  if  the  train  was  about  to  be  seized  and  carried  off  the 
rails.  At  last  he  rushed  to  the  compartment  in  which  Father 
Crowley  was,  and  seeing  District-Inspector  Stewart,  he  ordered 
that  officer  to  get  a  number  of  his  armed  policemen  out  of  the 
train,  and  clear  the  people  off  the  platform  if  the  cheering  was 
not  stopped.  The  inspector  carried  out  the  magistrate's  order, 
and  the  moment  the  cheering  was  renewed*the  police  charged 
the  crowd,  and  a  number  of  people  were  punched  with  the  butts 
of  rifles.  Fathers  Magner,  O'Shea  and  Coghlan  were  present, 
together  with  Mr.  C.  Crowley  and  several  Town  Commission- 
ers. These  gentlemen  protested  to  the  stationmaster  against 
the  manner  in  which  the  Bandon  people  had  been  treated  on 
the.  railway  premises,  but  all  Mr.  Rattray  could  say  was  that 
he  was  powerless  in  the  matter.  After  a  short  delay  the  train 
started  for  the  city  of  Cork,  Mr.  Gardiner  traveling  by  it  in 
order  to  take  charge  of,  the  police  force  on  duty  at  the  Cork 
terminus. 

SCENES  IN  CORK. 

The  news  of  the  sentence  on  Father  Crowley  was  pretty 
well  known  in  the  city  of  Cork  about  nine  o'clock,  and  a  good- 
ly number  had  assembled  outside  the  railway  terminus  when 
the  Bantry  train  reached  Cork,  shortly  after  half-past  nine. 
There  were  but  few  persons  on  the  platform,  as  the  police  ap- 
peared to  have  superseded  the  railway  officials  in  charge  of 
the  station.  A  body  of  police  kept  the  gates,  and  exercised  an 
arbitrary  power  over  the  rights  of  the  citizens  generally.  The 
Mayor  was  admitted  and  some  town  councillors  got  through 
in  a  rather  undignified  manner,  but  dogged  pertinacity  alone 
procured  admittance  for  some  other  gentlemen,  while  the  vast 
portion  of  the  crowd  was  crushed  outside.  A  considerable 
number  of  plain  clothes  men  (detectives)  mingled  with  the 
crowd,  while  a  few  of  them  took  up  positions  on  the  station 
platform. 

Just  as  the  train  reached  the  platform  about  twenty  police- 
men, under  District-Inspector  Bourchier,  drew  up  opposite  the 
carriage  in  which  Father  Crowley  was  in  custody,  while  the 
moment  the  train  stopped  the  military,  who  occupied  the  car- 
riage next  the  engine,  quickly  sprang  out  and  formed  on  the 


40  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

left  of  the  policemen.  The  large  body  of  policemen  who  had 
come  in  on  the  train  then  came  forward  on  the  far  end  of  the 
platform,  completely  barring  the  few  persons  present  from  ap- 
proaching any  portion  of  the  train.  A  minute  after  Father 
Crowley  stepped  from  the  train,  and  was  hurried  by  his  escort 
to  the  police  side-car.  A  number  of  policemen  treading  on 
one  another's  heels,  pressed  after  the  Rev.  gentleman,  and 
surrounded  the  car  while  he  was  taking  a  seat  beside  District- 
Inspector  Stewart.  The  gates  being  thrown  open  the  police 
car,  followed  by  the  brake,  which  was  loaded  with  fully  armed 
policemen,  drove  but  into  the  thick  of  the  crowd  amidst  loud 
cheers  for  the  Rev.  prisoner.  The  general  body  of  police  im- 
mediately followed  and  kept  up  with  the  cars  for  some  little 
distance. 

Amongst  the  gentlemen  who  were  present  in  the  railway 
station  when  Father  Crowley  arrived  were  the  Mayor;  Rev. 
P.  O'Neill,  S.  S.  Peter  and  Paul's ;  Rev.  J.  M'Donnell,  S.  S. 
Peter  and  Paul's ;  Rev.  Father  Murray,  C.  C. ;  Messrs.  W. 
Kelleher,  T.  C. ;  J.  C.  Forde,  Sec.  National  League ;  Aid.  J. 
O'Brien;  and  E.  Murphy,  sessional  chairman,  Cork,  Young 
Ireland  Society. 

The  route  to  the  gaol  was  by  the  South  Mall,  Grand  Pa- 
rade, Great  George's  Street  and  the  Western  Road,  and  all 
along  the  way  the  sidewalks  were  covered  with  people,  who 
cheered  loudly  and  long  for  the  Rev.  prisoner.  The  usual 
police  cordon  was  drawn  up  at  the  gaol  Cross,  but  it  was  rather 
surprising  to  find  a  crowd  of  people  at  the  very  gaol  door  as 
the  prisoner  drove  up.  The  Mayor  accompanied  Father  Crow- 
ley  into  the  prison  and  saw  him  lodged  in  the  reception  ward. 

I  had  for  my  jail  diet  the  first  three  days  bread  and  water; 
thereafter  I  had  the  usual  prison  fare.  For  the  first  month 
my  bed  was  a  plank. 

Within  a  few  days  after  my  incarceration,  letters,  tele- 
grams and  cablegrams  poured  in  upon  Rev.  Mr.  Hopley's  bish- 
op, asking  him  if  he  had  been  a  party  to  this  injustice.  The 
bishop  sent  at  once  three  clergymen  to  tender  to  Mr.  Bailey 
his  old  residence  and  the  five  acres,  with  the  privilege  of  oc- 
cupancy rent  free  during  the  rest  of  his  life.  Mr.  Bailey  re- 
plied, "  No,  gentlemen,  Father  Crowley  is  in  prison,  suffering 
for  me.  You  must  get  Father  Crowley  out  of  prison  before 


INTRODUCTORY.  41 

I  could  think  of  going  back  to  my  old  home."  I  heard  of  this 
offer,  and  succeeded  in  communicating  with  Mr.  Bailey  and  in- 
sisted upon  his  going  back,  which  he  most  reluctantly  did. 

Great  pressure  was  brought  to  bear  upon  me  by  the  Tory 
Government  to  sign  a  peace  bond,  and  thus  to  put  an  end  to 
my  captivity  at  the  end  of  the  first  month,  Mr.  Gladstone,  the 
Liberal  Party  and  the  Irish  Party  having  become  interested 
in  my  case,  which  was  debated  in  the  British  Parliament.  I 
refused  absolutely  to  sign  any  such  bond,  as  its  signing  I  con- 
sidered would  be  tantamount  to  an  admission  of  guilt,  and  my 
refusal  had  the  unanimous  approval  of  the  Catholic  bishop 
and  clergy  of  the  Diocese  of  Cork.  The  result  was  that  1 
remained  in  jail  six  months  longer. 

Upon  my  release,  on  my  way  home  and  at  home  I  was 
greeted  by  vast  throngs  of  people  who  testified  in  every  pos- 
sible way  the  esteem  in  which  they  held  me ;  but  the  one  wel- 
come which  touched  me  most  was  that  given  me  by  Mr.  Bailey 
— the  old  and  blind  Protestant  gentleman  threw  his  arms 
around  my  neck  and  kissed  me. 

Some  press  excerpts  seem  apropos  and  I  give  them : 

Eagle  and  County  Cork  Advertiser,  January  31,  1891. 
FATHER  CROWLEY  RELEASED  ON  SATURDAY. 

Father  Crowley,  the  gallant  and  patriotic  curate  of  Go- 
leen,  was  released  from  Cork  prison*  at  7 :  30  o'clock  on  Satur- 
day morning,  after  undergoing  seven  months'  imprisonment 
for  an  "  offense  "  under  the  Coercion  Act.  The  circumstances 
under  which  Father  Crowley  was  imprisoned  are  already  well 
known  to  our  readers.  We  are  glad  to  say  that  the  true-heart- 
ed So g garth  (priest)  is  in  excellent  health  and  spirits,  and  has 
borne  his  imprisonment  with  a  cheerful  courage  worthy  of  the 
cause  for  which  he  has  suffered.  Father  Crowley  comes  out 
of  the  prison  with  the  happy  consciousness  of  not  only  having 
done  his  duty  as  a  faithful  priest  and  a  robust  politician,  but 
of  having  won  the  battle  for  which  he  fought. 

The  law  might  call  his  offense  "  intimidation."  But  at 
least  his  intimidation  was  a  success.  The  man  whose  cause 
Father  Crowley  advocated — the  cause  of  an  evicted  Protestant 


42  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

against  his  own  parson — has  gained.  When  Father  Crow- 
ley  was  a  short  time  in  gaol,  he  was  re-instated,  and  notwith- 
standing this  the  authorities  still  detained  the  Rev.  gentleman 
in  prison. 

On  Wednesday  Fath'er  Crow-1'ey  proceeded  from  Cork  to 
Bantry.  He  left  Cork  for  the  purpose  of  visiting  .his  friends 
and  former  parishioners  in  West  Cork,  and  at  the  different  sta- 
tions along  the  route  he  received  hearty  ovations.  Rev.  W. 
Murphy,  P.  P.,  Kilbrittain,  traveled  with  him  as  far  as  En- 
niskeane.  At  Waterfall  a  large  crowd  gathered,  by  whom 
hearty  cheers  were  raised.  At  Bandon  there  was  a  very  large 
nurnber  of  people  with  the  brass  band  of  the  town,  including 
the  Very  Rev.  Dean  M'Swiney,  P.  P.,  V.  G. ;  Rev.  Mr.  Mag- 
ner,  C.  C. ;  Rev.  Mr.  Russell,  C.  C. ;  Rev.  Mr.  Coghlan,  C.  C. ; 
Rev.  Mr.  M'Donnell,  C.  C.,  KiLbrittain. 

When  the  train  steamed  in  Dean  M'Swiney  was  the  first 
to  shake  hands  with  Father  Crowley  and  welcome  him  back 
out  of  the  hands  of  the  Balfours  and  the  Roches,  and  when 
the  train  was  leaving  the  station  he  a-gain  called  for  cheers  for 
Father  Crowley,  which  were  heartily  responded  to. 

At  Enniskeane  Rev.  Mr.  O'Sullivan,  C.  C.  and  a  large 
crowd  were  gathered,  and  at  Dunmanway  there  was  another 
large  concourse  assembled. 

At  Drimoleague  Rev.  J.  Murphy,  P.  P. ;  Dr.  Crowley, 
Messrs.  W.  Fitzgerald,  J.  Connolly,  A.  M'Carthy,  P.  L.  G., 
and  a  number  of  others  were  present. 

At  Bantry  Father  Crowley  was  met  by  Rev.  J.  O'Leary, 
C.  C. ;  Rev.  J.  O'Hea,  C.  .C. ;  Rev.  J.  Kearney,  C.  C. ;  Mr.  J. 
Gilhooly,  M.  P.;  Mr.  P.  T.  Carroll  (solicitor),  and  a  large 
deputation  of  the  townspeople.  As  the  train  steamed  in  hearty 
cheers  were  raised  for  the  Rev.  "  ex-criminal,"  and  when  he 
stepped  out  on  the  platform  a  rush  was  made  to  seize  his  hand 
and  welcome  him  to  liberty  once  more.  The  Rev.  gentleman 
then  proceeded  to  the  residence  of  the  Very  Rev.  Canon  Shink- 
win,  P.  P. 

In  the  evening  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  town  hall  in 
his  honor.  The  building  was  filled  to  overflowing.  .  .  . 
The  Rev.  J.  O'Leary,  C.  C.,  presided. 

The  Rev.  Chairman  briefly  introduced  Father  Crowley, 
and  referred  to  his  sufferings  in  prison,  and  the  fortitude  and 
dignity  with  which  he  had  borne,  them.  He  said  the  glaring 
injustice  of  which  Father  Crowley  was  the  victim,  and  the 


INTRODUCTORY.  43 

iniquitous  .punishment  to  which  he  had  been  subjected,  had 
only  more  endeared  him  to  the  hearts  of  the  people  of  West 
Cork,  and  it  was  with  a  hearty  caed  mille  failthe  they  wel- 
comed him  amongst  them  once  more  (cheers). 

Addresses  were  presented  from  the  Bantry  Branch  of  the 
National  League,  and  the  Bantry  G.  A.  A.  .  . 

From  Bantry  Father  Crowley  proceeded  to  Skibbereen. 
The  arrival  at  Skibbereen  was  marked  by  an  enthusiastic  ova- 
tion from  a  large  crowd  assembled  at  the  terminus.  Amongst 
those  present  were  Rev.  Fathers  O'Brien  and  Cunningham ; 
Dr.  Kearney ;  Dr.  O'Driscoll ;  Messrs.  Florence  M'Carthy ;  Cor- 
nelius M'Carthy,  Town  Clerk ;  Timothy  Sheehy,  T.  C. ;  John 
O'Shea ;  Charles  O'Shea ;  P.  Sheehy,  solicitor ;  Edward  Roy- 
craft,  Chairman  Schull  Guardians ;  etc. 

At  Ballydehob  a  great  crowd  was  assembled,  and  a  most 
enthusiastic  cheer  was  raised  when  the  train  pulled  up  at  the 
station,  the  fife  and  drum  band  of  the  village  playing  a  series 
of  National  airs. 

It  may  be  observed  here  that  on  the  occasion  of  Father 
Crowley's  release  on  Saturday  last  the  village  was  brilliantly 
illuminated,  tar-barrels  being  lit  in  the  streets  and  the  windows 
of  all  the  houses  being  illuminated.  The  band  paraded  the 
streets,  playing  National  airs,  and  followed  by  a  large  crowd. 
On  Thursday  the  band  joined  the  train  at  Ballydehob  and 
traveled  with  us  all  the  way  to  Goleen.  A  tremendous  cheer 
was  raised  as  the  train  steamed  out;  the  band  playing  the 
while.  With  the  band  the  following  representatives  from  Bal- 
lydehob accompanied  Father  Crowley  as  far  as  Schull — Rev. 
D.  Corcoran;  Messrs.  T.  McSwiney,  Hon.  Sec.  I.  N.  L. ;  D. 
Gallagher ;  J.  Coughlan,  M.  Cotter,  JR..  Hodnett. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  train  at  Schull  a  scene  of  the 
most  extraordinary  enthusiasm  was  witnessed.  Before  the 
station  was  reached  the  road  for  a  long  distance  was  crowded 
with  men  and  women,  the  men  waving  their  hats,  and  many 
men  and  women  bearing  aloft  evergreens.  On  the  platform 
the  throng  was  dense,  and  immediately  that  the  train  stopped 
a  rush  was  made  for  the  carriage  in  which  Father  Crowley 
traveled,  joy  beaming  on  every  face,  and  the  people  almost  walk- 
ing on  each  other  in  their  eagerness  to  shake  the  hand  of  Father 
Crowley.  Schull  itself  presented  a  gay  appearance.  All  the 
way  from  the  station  the  road  and  fences  were  lined  with  peo- 
ple, of  whom  there  were  some  thousands,  not  alone  from 


44  THE  PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

Schull,  but  from  all  the  surrounding  country,  and  even  from 
Goleen.  There  were  triumphal  arches  across  the  streets,  bear- 
ing suitable  mottoes,  flags  waved  from  many  windows,  and 
as  the  procession  wended  its  way  through  the  village  to  the 
Rev.  Father  O'Connor's  house  the  greatest  enthusiasm  was 
evinced.  Schull,  on  the  occasion,  did  honor  to  the  patriotic 
priest  in  a  splendid  manner.  On  the  day  of  his  release  they 
showed  their  joy  in  a  befitting  way  with  tar-barrels  and  illu- 
minations, while  the  country  all  around  was  blazing  with  bon- 
fires. .  . 

Father  O'Connor  addressed  the  meeting,  and  said  that 
he  need  not  say  how  happy  they  all  were  at  seeing  Father 
Crowley  amongst  them,  and  their  pleasure  was  the  greater 
at  seeing  him  in  such  splendid  form,  notwithstanding  all 
that  he  had  endured — endured  so  unjustly  and  cruelly,  in 
"  Balfour's  Hotel  "  in  Cork  during  the  past  seven  months.  He 
need  not  relate  to  them  the  reasons  why  he  was  imprisoned. 
He  was  put  into  jail  for  trying  to  promote  justice  between 
man  and  man  and  for  championing  the  cause  of  a  poor  blind 
old  gentleman,  who  was  a  Protestant.  They  were  all  proud 
of  Father  Crowley's  action  in  defending  one  who  then  dif- 
fered from  him  in  creed  (cheers).  Father  Crowley  had  al- 
ways endeavored  to  see  justice  between  landlord  and  tenant, 
and  it  was  for  these  reasons  that  he  was  immured  in  Cork 
Gaol  (groans  and  a  voice,  "  Thank  God  he  is  not  the  worse 
for  it").  They  were  all  delighted  to  know  that  he  was  as 
determined  to  work  in  the  national  cause  in  the  future  as  he 
had  shown  himself  to  be  in  the  past  (cheers)  ;  and  he  hoped 
that  that  future  would  be  a  long  and  a  happy  one  (cheers). 

Father  O'Connor,  then  read  the  following  address : — 
"  To  the  Rev.  J.  J.  Crowley,  R.  C.  C. 

"  Dear  Father  Crowley, — On  behalf  of  the  Schull  and  Bal- 
lydehob  branch  of  the  Irish  National  League,  we  beg  to  ten- 
der you  a  hearty  welcome  from  "  Balfour's  Hotel."  You  may 
feel  sure  we  highly  appreciate  your  noble  efforts  and  suffer- 
ings on  behalf  of  the  poor  and  oppressed  people  of  West 
Schull.  We  feel  the  injustice  of  the  terrible  sentence — seven 
months — inflicted  upon  you  for  no  earthly  reason  but  that  you 
championed  the  cause  of  a  poor  blind  old  gentleman  against 
landlord  rapacity,  and  we  feel  the  greater  pride  in  your  action 
because  that  he  differed  from  you  in  religion.  We  congratu- 
late you  upon  the  splendid  state  of  your  health  after  your 


INTRODUCTORY.  45 

term  of  imprisonment,  and  we  hope  you  will  be  long  spared 
to  work  in  the  future  as  you  have  so  nobly  done  in  the  past 
in  the  grand  old  cause  of  fatherland." 

Father  Crowley,  who  got  a  splendid  ovation,  addressed 
the  people  and  said  that  he  could  hardly  express  in  words 
his  grateful  thanks  for  the  enthusiastic  welcome  accorded 
him,  and  for  the  genuinely  hearty  manner  in  which  they  had 
received  him.  It  was  almost  unnecessary  for  him  to  remind 
them  of  the  history  of  the  struggle  which  had  just  come  to  an 
end.  .  . 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  addresses  the  word  was  given 

"  TO  GOLEEN  " 

and  a  long  procession  was  formed.  First  came  Father  Crow- 
ley,  accompanied  by  Father  Corcoran  and  Father  O'Connell. 
Then  came  a  body  of  pedestrians,  including  many  women ; 
then  came  the  Ballydehob  band,  followed  by  a  long  line  of 
spring  carts,  equestrians,  and  common  carts,  the  procession 
reaching  nearly  two  miles  in  length.  Along  the  line  of  march 
the  people  congregated  in  groups  near  the  houses,  bonfires 
blazed  along  the  hill-sides,  and  evergreens  were  tied  to  long 
poles,  fixed  in  the  ground.  At  intervals  in  the  procession  flags 
were  borne  aloft,  and  at  every  now  and  then  enthusiastic  cheers 
were  raised  by  the  crowd  of  pedestrians  that  formed  Father 
Crowley's  guard  of  honor.  The  evening  was  beautifully  fine, 
and  as  the  procession  wended  its  way  along  with  banners  fly- 
ing, and  the  horses  decorated  with  green,  the  effect  was  pic- 
turesque in  the  extreme.  When  we  arrived  at 

TOORMORE 

the  band  struck  up  a  tune,  and  at  the  "  Poor  Man's  Church  " 
some  of  the  villagers  met  us.  The  rocky  elevations  around 
the  village  were  occupied  by  cheering  groups.  Bonfires  blazed, 
horns  were  "  tooted,"  and  the  enthusiasm  of  the  processionists 
reached  a  high  pitch  when  a  banner  was  observed  waving  from 
Mr.  Bailey's  window.  Outside  Bailey's  house  a  great  crowd 
was  collected,  the  women  and  children  waving  green  branches, 
and  the  men  cheering  enthusiastically.  A  halt  was  called  here, 
and  Father  Crowley  paid  a  visit  to  Mr.  Bailey,  who  wept  for 
joy  when  he  clasped  Father  Crowley's  hand.  Poor  Mr.  Bai- 
ley is  not  very  well  just  now,  though  he  is  able  to  be  about. 
All  the  cabins  were  decorated  with  ivy  and  laurel,  and  the  vil- 
lagers gathered  around  Father  Crowley  as  he  emerged  from 


46  THE   PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

Mr.  Bailey's,  some  saying  that  but  for  him  they  would  be  far 
from  Toormore  now,  and  all  expressing  their  joy  at  his  re- 
turn, and  their  sorrow  at  his  forthcoming  departure,  some  of 
them^  saying  that  they'd  never  let  him  be  sent  away  from  them. 
Leaving  Toormore,  the  crowd  of  pedestrians  was  very  con- 
siderably augmented,  and  as  the  shades  of  evening  were  falling, 

GOLEEN 

was  reached,  the  hillsides  as  we  approached  aur  destination 
being  ablaze  with  bonfires  in  all  directions.  Goleen  itself  was 
brilliantly  illuminated,  every  house  in  the  village  being  a  blaze 
of  light.  Before  entering  the  village  the  crowd  struck  up 
"  God  Save  Ireland,"  and  the  chapel  bell  boomed  forth  its 
deep  notes  as  Father  Crowley  reached  his  old  home.  On  the 
rocky  elevations  above  the  village  tar-barrels  blazed,  and  were 
surrounded  by  cheering  crowds.  As  Father  Crowley  made 
his  way  on  to  one  of  the  rocks,  which  served  as  a  sort  of  plat- 
form, the  enthusiasm  of  the  multitude  reached  an  extraor- 
dinary pitch.  He  was  accompanied  by  Fathers  O'Driscoll, 
Corcoran,  and  O'Connell;  Messrs.  Florence  M'Carthy,  R. 
Roberts,  T.  Ward,  S.  Bailey,  John  Roycroft,  James  Roycroft, 
and  all  the  principal  men  of  the  village  and  the  surrounding 
locality.  The  whole  population  of  the  district  for  miles  around 
was  present  on  the  occasion.  The  Rev.  Father  O'Driscoll,  C. 
C.,  was  chosen  to  preside,  and,  in  opening  the  proceedings, 
said  that  they  were  assembled  on  a  historic  occasion  to  give 
a  welcome  home  to  Father  Crowley  after  his  absence  of  seven 
months  in  jail  (cheers).  The  people  showed  their  love  of 
Father  Crowley  unmistakably  that  day.  From  Mizen  Head 
to  Dunbeacon  the  people  had  shown  by  the  numbers  of  them 
who  went  to  Schull  to  welcome  him  what  popularity  he  had 
earned  amongst  them  by  his  labours  on  their  behalf.  Father 
Crowley  had  every  man  and  woman  and  child  to  welcome  him 
back  to  their  midst,  while  if  Removables  Welch  and  Roche, 
who  sent  him  to  jail,  came  there  they  would  have  nobody  to 
greet  them  but  the  police  (groans).  He  concluded  by  asking 
Mr.  Florence  M'Carthy  to  read  the  address  to  Father  Crowley 
on  his  release. 

Mr.  McCarthy  read  the  following  address : 

"  Address  to  the  Rev.  J.  J.  Crowley,  C.  C.  (Catholic  Curate) 
from  the  parishioners  of  Goleen,  on  his  return  after  seven 
months'  imprisonment. 


INTRODUCTORY.  47 

DEAR  FATHER  CROWLEY, — It  is  with  feelings  of  sincere 
pleasure  that  we  welcome  you  back  safely  to  liberty  after  en- 
joying for  seven  months  the  care  and  attention  of  our  paternal 
Government  in  one  of  its  bastiles.  We  are  delighted  to  find- 
that  your  long  imprisonment  has  neither  injured  your  health 
nor  subdued  your  spirits.  We  cannot  refrain  from  referring 
with  pride  to  your  imprisonment  being  the  result  of  your  de- 
nouncing the  harsh  and  unfeeling  treatment  dealt  out  by  the 
Trustees  of  his  own  Church  to  an  old  Protestant  gentleman. 
Your  hatred  of  oppression  urged  you  to  expose  the  cruelties 
and  hardships  of  evicting  and  leaving  to  die  near  the  ditch 
this  old  man  of  seventy  winters,  with  his  wife  and  family. 
Your  kind  thoughtfulness,  however,  provided  them  with  a 
home,  and  it  must  have  been  a  pleasure  to  you  to-day,  as  the 
knowledge  must  have  been  for  months  past  in  your  lonely  cell, 
to  find  Mr.  Bailey  and  his  family  restored  long  since  to  their 
old  home.  You  were  beloved  by  us  before ;  but  the  hall-mark 
of  the  prison  endears  you  to  us  a  thousandfold.  The  Govern- 
ment through  motives  of  petty  vindictiveness,  detained  you 
for  months  in  prison  after  the  wrongs  you  denounced  had 
.been  rectified;  and  while  you,  a  Catholic  priest,  have  not  hes- 
itated to  come  to  the  aid  of  your  oppressed  Protestant  neigh- 
bors, and  cheerfully  go  to  prison  for  their  sakes,  the  Govern- 
ment and  its  supporters  are  not  ashamed  to  urge  for  political 
purposes  the  knowingly  false  cry  of  '  Catholic  intolerance ' 
and  oppression  of  the  Protestants  as  a  reason  for  withhold- 
ing Home  Rule  from  Ireland.  Thank  God,  Catholic  Ireland 
can  proudly  refer  to  her  present  and  past  history  to  refute  this 
libel.  A  natural  hatred  of  wrong,  an  inherent  sense  of  jus- 
tice have  been  intensified  by  your  sojourn  in  (America)  the 
land  of  liberty.  The  hardships  they  were  obliged  to  endure, 
and  the  petty  tyrannies  and  wrongs  the  poor  people  of  the 
parish  were  subjected  to  aroused  your  indignation;  and  once 
you  wrere  convinced  of  the  necessity  for  action  you  never  hes- 
itated to  espouse  the  cause  of  the  oppressed,  and  were  fear- 
less of  the  consequences.  Your  prompt  and  decisive  action 
Vept  many  in  their  homes ;  but  while  checking  the  aggressive- 
ness of  unfeeling  landlordism,  you  would  not  tolerate  the  with- 
holding or  non-payment  of  fair  rents,  and  have  in  many  in- 
stances largely  increased  the  landlords'  rent  collections.  Re- 
gardless of  yourself,  you  were  at  any  time  of  the  day  or  night, 
when  duty  called,  by  the  bedside  of  the  suffering,  bringing 


48  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

tender-hearted  sympathy  to  the  couch  of  pain,  and  succor  to 
the  poor  and  lowly.  In  our  selfishness  we  hoped  you  would 
be  left  longer  with  us  to  enjoy  the  little  improvements  we 
"recently  made  in  your  home  in  anticipation  of  your  return 
and  stay  with  us.  If  this  is  not  to  be,  we  can  only  assure  you 
that  your  memory  will  always  be  treasured  by  a  grateful  peo- 
ple, who  will  look  forward  to  your  visiting  them  occasionally, 
when  you  may  calculate  on  receiving  at  all  times,  as  you  do 
now,  a  cead  mille  failthe." 

Father  CrOwley,  on  coming  forward  to  address  the  peo- 
ple, received  a  magnificent  reception.  He  said  that  he  was 
unable  to  express  in  words  how  happy  he  felt  at  being  back 
again  in  Goleen,  and  how  glad  he  was  to  find  them  all  in  such 
spirits.  He  was  happy  in  being  able  to  tell  them  that  he  was 
in  good  health  and  spirits,  too  (cheers).  He  was  very  thank- 
ful to  his  dear  people  for  the  enthusiastic  manner  in  which 
they  received  him,  and  for  the  address  presented  to  him  on 
behalf  of  the  people  of  Goleen.  .  . 

AN  EXTRAORDINARY  SCENE. 

As  Father  Crowley  was  making  his  way  from  the  place  of 
meeting  to  his  own  house,  a  most  extraordinary  scene  was 
witnessed.  The  men  and  women  flocked  about  him,  and  wept 
as  if  their  hearts  were  breaking  at  the  thought  of  his  departure. 
It  was  a  most  pathetic  scene,  and  as  the  loud  sobs  of  many 
hundreds  of  sorrowing  hearts  were  echoed  back  from  the  sur- 
rounding rocks,  the  effect  was  at  once  weird  and  wonderful. 
Such  devotion  as  was  here  displayed  is  a  thing  that  but  few 
priests  have  ever  experienced.  The  manifestations  of  sincere 
love  exhibited  were  most  impressive.  The  people  rushed  to 
kiss  Father  Crowley's  hand,  and  it  was  only  after  a  long  strug- 
gle that  he  was  able  to  tear  himself  away  from  amidst  a 
weeping  throng  of  admirers,  many  of  whom  loudly  declared 
that  they  would  never  let  him  be  removed  from  amongst  them. 

The  foregoing  suggestion  of  my  removal  from  Goleen  was 
founded  upon  the  fact  that  my  bishop  was  seeking  to  promote 
me.  He  yielded  to  the  wishes  of  the  people  of  Goleen,  as  will 
be  seen  by  the  following  letter : 


INTRODUCTORY.  4Q 

Cork,  Feb'y  8th,  '91 
Dear  Father  Crowley : 

I  have  yielded  to  the  wishes  of  the  good  people  of  Goleen, 
and  I  have  determined  to  leave  you  with  them  for  some  time 
longer.  There  is  much  to  be  done  in  the  parish,  and  the  dis- 
tress of  the  poor  people  will  give  you  many  opportunities  of 
exercising  your  zeal.  I  remain 

Yours  faithfully, 

f  T.  A.'O'Callaghan. 

I  remained  in  the  parish  of  West  Schull  (Goleen)  fifteen 
months  longer;  then  I  was  promoted  to  the  parish  of  New- 
cestown,  near  Bandon,  where  I  staid  four  years. 

When  I  returned  to  Ireland  I  determined  to  go  back  to 
America  at  some  future  time.  I  asked  permission  of  my 
bishop  in  1895  to  return.  He  begged  me  to  withdraw  my  re- 
quest, and  would  not  yield  until  my  importunity  drew  from 
him  the  following  reluctant  consent: 

Cork,  June  18,  1896. 

The  Rev.  Jeremiah  J.  Crowley,  of  the  Diocese  of  Cork,  has 
my  permission  to  seek  a  mission  in  the  United  States,  and  I 
have  given  it  to  him  reluctantly  at  his  own  earnest  request 
as  I  sincerely  regret  his  departure.  He  is  a  good,  hard-work- 
ing priest,  zealous  and  devoted  to  his  duties.  During  the 
eight  years  he  has  been  in  the  diocese  I  have  had  no  fault 
whatsoever  to  find  with  him.  He  has  already  labored  on  the 
American  Mission  and  is  now  anxious  to  return. 

f  T.  A.  O'Callaghan,  Bishop  of  Cork. 

I  also  received  the  following  letters: 

Bantry,  County  Cork,  July  13,  1896. 

As  the  Rev.  J.  J.  Crowley,  who  for  some  years  officiated 
in  the  Deanery  over  which  I  preside  and  is  now  of  his  own 
accord  severing  his  connection  with  this  Diocese,  has  asked 
me  to  say  what  I  think  about  him,  I  feel  much  pleasure  in  com- 
plying with  his  request.  He  was  always  faithful  in  the  dis- 
charge of  the  duties  that  devolved  upon  him  and  thoroughly 
devoted  to  the  work  of  his  sacred  calling.  His  ministry  was 
highly  efficient  and  fruitful,  and  so  appreciated  was  it  by  the 
people  amongst  w.iom  he  labored  that,  when  he  was  taken 
from  them,  they  manifested  the  greatest  possible  regret.  His 


5O  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

relations  with  priests  and  people  were  of  the  kindliest  char- 
acter. All  who  know  him  wish  him  a  bright  and  happy  future, 
and  indeed  none  more  sincerely  than  mvself. 

M.  Canon  Shinkwin,  P.  P.  V.  F. 

Bandon,  County  Cork,  June  15,  1896. 

.Rev.  Jeremiah  J.  Crowley,  who  has  ministered  in  this 
Deanery  for  four  years,  is  a  very  worthy  priest.  He  is  hard- 
working and  energetic,  is  esteemed  by  all  who  know  him, 
and  it  gives  me  great  pleasure  to  be  able  to  state  that  he  leaves 
us  without  the  least  stain  on  his  character. 

Joseph  Canon  Shinkwin,  P.  P.  V.  F. 

From  the  Cardinal  Primate  of  all  Ireland  I  received  the 
following : 

Ara  Coeli,  Armagh,  July  13,  1896. 

From  all  I  could  learn  regarding  Rev.  Father  Crowley 
I  believe  him  to  be  a  good,  regular,  hard-working  priest.  I 
am  sure  Father  Crowley  will  labor  with  zeal  and  success  in 
any  mission  entrusted  to  him.  |  Michael  Cardinal  Logue. 

From  Bishop  O'Donnell  of  Raphoe,  Donegal,  I  received 
the  following: 

Letterkenny,  County  Donegal,  June  25,  1896. 
Having  met  Rev.  Jeremiah  J.  Crowley  of  Cork  more  than 
once  and  heard  a  great  deal  about  him  from  others,  I  have 
much  pleasure  in  stating  that  he  bears  the  name  of  a  zealous 
and  efficient  priest,  and  it  is  my  expectation  that  he  will  prove 
a, very  useful  worker  in  whatever  mission  in  America  his  lot 

is  cast 

f  Patrick  O'  Donnell,  Bishop  of  Raphoe. 

I  also  received  the  following  letters : 

Maynooth  College,  County  Kildare,  July  20,  1896. 
I  am  happy  to  testify  from  personal  knowledge  and 
from  reliable  information  that  Father  Crowley  is  an  excellent 
priest  with  a  stainless  record.  Intellectually,  socially,  and 
physically  he  is  everything  that  could  be  desired.  He  am- 
bitions a  wider  field  for  the  use  of  the  gifts  God  has  endowed 
him  with;  and  I  confidently  pray  that  his  zeal  and  prudence 
may  be  as  conspicuous  in  the  future  as  in  the  past. 

Edward  Maguire,  D.  D.  (Professor). 


INTRODUCTORY.  5! 

St.  Finnbarr's  Seminary,  Cork,  Aug.  15,  '96. 
Most  Rev.  M.  Corrigan,  D.  D., 
Archbishop  of  New  York. 
My  Dear  Lord : 

Father  Crowley  asks  me  for  a  line  of  introduction  to 
Your  Grace.  He  is  seeking  for  a  mission  in  America  with 
permission  of  his  bishop,  from  whom  he  has  got  an  excellent 
letter.  To  that  I  would  wish  to  add  the  very  strong  personal 
recommendation  of  my  brother  (Very  Rev.  John  B.  O'Mahon- 
ey,  D.  D.),  President  of  our  Diocesan  Seminary,  and  who 
knows  Father  Crowley  particularly  well,  as  he  was  one  of  his 
earliest  pupils. 

I  take  this  opportunity  of  thanking  your  Grace  for  all 
your  kindness  on  the  occasion  of  my  last  visit  to  New 
York,  every  way  one  of  the  pleasantest  of  my  many  pleasant 
souvenirs  of  America.  I  write  this  from  my  brother's  place, 
where  I  am  staying  for  a  few  days  on  my  way  to  All  Hallows 
(College). 

Most  Respectfully  Yours  in  Christ, 

T.  J.  O'Mahoney,  D.  D. 
(Professor  of  All  Hallows  College,  Dublin). 

I  arrived  in  New  York  in  August,  1896.  After  a  few 
days  I  paid  a  visit  to  my  friends  in  Manchester,  New  Hamp- 
shire, and  received  the  following  letter  to  the  Vicar  General 
of  the  Archdiocese  of  New  York: 

Manchester,  N.  H.,  August  30,  1896. 
My  Dear  Monsignor  Mooney : 

This  will  introduce  to  you  Rev.  Jeremiah  J.  Crowley 
of  the  Diocese  of  Cork.  He  exercised  the  sacred  ministry  in 
this  Diocese  for  sixteen  months.  He  was  an  assistant  here 
in  the  city  during  his  stay  in  this  Diocese.  He  is  an  excellent 
priest,  sober,  zealous  and  of  great  faith. 

Yours  sincerely  in  Christ, 
f  Denis  M.  Bradley,  Bishop  of  Manchester. 

I  was  received  most  cordially  by  Archbishop  Corrigan 
and  other  Church  dignitaries  at  New  York,  but  there  being 
no  vacancy  I  came  to  Chicago. 

I  called  upon  Archbishop  Feehan  in  Chicago,  accom- 
panied by  a  prominent  ecclesiastic.  I  was  appointed  an 


52  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

assistant  pastor  at  the  Church  of  the  Nativity  of  our  Lord, 
37th  St.  and  Union  Ave.,  Chicago.  I  was  there  nearly  three 
years.  On  December  20,  1899,  I  was  promoted  by  Archbishop 
Feehan  to  the  Oregon,  Illinois,  parish  and  the  outlying  mis- 
sions thereof,  receiving  from  His  Grace  the  following  letter: 

Chicago,  December  20,  1899. 

I  hereby  appoint  Rev.  J.  J.  Crowley  pastor  of  St.  Mary's 
Church,  Oregon,  111.,  and  also  of  the  missions  attached  to  that 
place. 

I  recommend  him  to  the  kindness  and  confidence  of 
the  Catholic  people. 

f  P.  A.  Feehan,  Archbishop  of  Chicago. 

I  remained  in  Oregon  until  August  3,  1901,  when  I  was 
ousted  by  an  injunction  issued  by  the  civil  court  on  the  prayer 
of  a  petition  alleged  to  have  been  filed  by  the  direction  of  the 
late  Archbishop  Feehan  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Chicago. 

And  now  I  come  to  the  famous  Chicago  controversy 
which  arose  in  the  summer  of  1900  over  the  appointment  of 
an  Auxiliary  Bishop  to  the  late  Archbishop  Feehan.  It  was 
commenced  by  twenty-five  priests  of  most  excellent  stand- 
ing, and  it  is  still  pending. 

During  the  Oregon,  Illinois,  litigation,  commenced  against 
me  as  stated  in  the  name  of  Archbishop  Feehan  of  the  Arch- 
diocese of  Chicago,  I  had  prepared  a  printed  brief  which  set 
forth  the  pleadings,  affidavits,  etc.,  in  that  litigation,  and  I 
mailed  copies  of  this  publication  to  various  Church  dignitaries. 
To  the  fly-leaf  I  attached  a  little  slip,  a  facsimile  of  which  is 
as  follows: 

With  the  Compliments  of 


A  full  and  authentic  history  of  the  sad  con- 
dition of  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  Archdio- 
cese of  Chicago,  is  now  being  prepared  and  will 
be  given  to  the  public  in  the  near  future. 


INTRODUCTORY.  53 

A  consequence  of  the  foregoing  slip"  was  the  sending  to 
me  of  the  following  unjust  and  invalid  document,  Cardinal 
Martinelli,  (the  Papal  Delegate  to  the  Church  in  the  United 
States),  having  been  persuaded  to  adopt  this,  course  in  the 
hope  that  it  would  save  himself  and  my  opponents  from  ex- 
posure by  frightening  me  into  a  cowardly  submission : 

[TRANSLATION.] 

APOSTOLIC  DELEGATION, 
UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 

No.  1393.  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

This  No.  should  be  Prefixed  to  the  Answer. 

Inasmuch  as  the  Sacred  Congregation  for  propagating 
the  Faith  has  learned  that  certain  priests  of  the  Archdiocese 
of  Chicago  have  taken  grave  offense  at  the  election  of  the 
Rev.  P.  J.  Muldoon  to  the  Episcopate,  and  have  with  all  their 
vigor,  pertinaciously  and  wrongfully  protested  against  his 
consecration,  therefore,  it,  [the  Sacred  Congregation],  by  let- 
ters No.  45,708,  dated  Rome,  August  21,  1901,  has  charged 
this  Apostolic  Delegation  with  the  duty  of  watching  closely 
lest  the  matter  should  grow  to  too  great  a  scandal,  and  at  the 
same  time  of  canonically  admonishing,  and,  as  far  as  may  be 
necessary,  visiting  with  ecclesiastical  censure,  whomsoever  it 
[said  Delegation]  might  happen  to  find  guilty. 

Now,  however,  since  we  have  with  safety  learned  that  the 
Rev.  Jeremiah  Crowley,  a  priest  of  the  said  Archdiocese,  made 
a  very  bitter  contest  against  the  aforesaid  election  and  conse- 
cration, and  does  not  even  now  desist  therefrom,  since,  indeed, 
we  have  before  us 

1.  A  bill  of  complaint  by  him  presented  to  the  civil  court, 

2.  A  defense  which  his  advocate  undertook  to  prepare, 

3.  A  promise  made  by  him  in  writing  concerning  the  early 
publication  of  a  work  wherein  he  will  relate  the  sad  state  of 
the  Archdiocese  existing  in  his  mind, 

We  require  the  said  Rev.  Jeremiah  Crowley,  in  the  Lord, 
for  his  own  good  and  for  the  honor  of  the  Church,  to  desist 
from  his  pertinacity,  and  at  the  same  time  we  peremptorily, 
once  instead  of  thrice,  warn  him  to  give  certain  signs  of 
repentance  and  reparation. 

But  if  he  shall  refuse  and  if,  within  the  space  of  ten  days, 
to  be  computed  from  the  day  of  his  receiving  notice  of  this 
Admonition,  he  shall  not  repair  the  scandal, 


54  THE   PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

1.  By  desisting  from  the  prosecution  of  the  suit  in  the 
civil  tribunal, 

2.  By  altogether  prohibiting  the  printing  of  the   prom- 
ised book,  or,  if  it  shall  have  already  been  printed,  by  not  pub- 
lishing the  same, 

3.  By  making  public  reparation  for  the  public  scandal, 

4.  And   by   submitting  himself   to   the   authority   of   the 
Archbishop, 

We  declare  him  ipso  facto  excommunicated,  and  we  re- 
serve to  this  Apostolic  Delegation  the  power  to  annul  (or  to 
absolve  from)  this  excommunication. 

Moreover,  we  commit  to  the  Court  of  the  Archbishop  of 
Chicago  the  execution  of  this  decree,  and  we,  therefore,  charge 
it  with  the  duty  of  transmitting  these  presents  to  the  afore- 
said Rev.  Jeremiah  Crowley,  all  legal  requirements  being  ob- 
served. But  if  the  said  Rev.  Jeremiah  Crowley  is  absent 
or  cannot  be  found,  then,  the  edict  being  posted  up  in  the 
churches  or  in  other  public  place,  after  the  space  of  ten  days, 
as  above  mentioned,  he  still  not  desisting  from  pertinacity,  we 
ordain  that  this  decree  shall  in  like  manner  take  effect. 

Given  at  Washington, 

From  the  palace  of  the  Apostolic  Delegation,  Octo- 
ber 13,  1901.  Sebastian  Card.  Martinelli, 

Apostolic  Pro-Delegate. 

In  due  course  the  following  unjust  and  invalid  document 
was  issued  in  the  name  of  Archbishop  Feehan  of  the  Arch- 
diocese of  Chicago : 

Chicago,  111.,  Oct.  26,  1901. 

Whereas,  the  Rev.  Jeremiah  J.  Crowley,  a  priest  exer- 
cising faculties  in  the  Archdiocese  of  Chicago,  has  grievously 
violated  the  laws  and  discipline  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
and  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Chicago,  and  as  he  persists  con- 
tumaciously in  his  unlawful  conduct,  therefore,  after  due 
warning  from  the  Apostolic  Delegation  of  the  United  States, 
as  shown  by  the  above  document,  which  was  delivered  to  the 
Rev.  Jeremiah  J.  Crowley  in  person  on  Wednesday,  the  i6th 
day  of  October,  1901,  and  the  said  Rev.  Jeremiah  J.  Crow- 
ley  having  failed  to  comply  with  the  conditions  laid  down  by 
the  Apostolic  Delegation  within  the  period  of  time  allotted 
to  him  in  the  said  decree,  we  hereby  declare  publicly  and 
solemnly  that  the  Rev,  Jeremiah  J,  Crowley  is  excommunicated 


INTRODUCTORY.  55 

from  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  and  all  participation  therein, 
according  to  the  decree  of  His  Eminence,  Sebastian  Cardinal 
Martinelli,  Pro-Delegate  Apostolic. 

The  effects  of  this  most  grave  censure  of  the  Church  are: 

1.  He  is  cut  off  from  the  communion  and  society  of  the 
faithful. 

2.  The   faithful  are  forbidden,   under   severe  penalty,  to 
hold  communion  with  him  or  assist  him  in  his  unlawful  con- 
duct. 

3.  He  cannot  receive  or  administer  any  of  the  sacraments 
of  the  Church.     Should  he  attempt  to  give  absolution  in  the 
tribunal  of  penance,  said  absolution  is  invalid  and  sacrilegious. 

4.  He  cannot  be  present  or  assist  at  any  of  the  public  ex- 
ercises or  offices  of  religion  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church, 
nor  can  he  be  present  at  mass,  vespers  or  any  other  public  ser- 
vice in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 

5.  He  cannot  receive  or  fill  any  office  within  the  gift  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 

6.  Should  he  die  while  under  this  excommunication  he 
will  be  deprived  of  Christian  burial. 

All  the  pastors  of  this  Archdiocese  are  hereby  commanded, 
sub  pocna  suspensionis,  to  attach  the  above  decree  and  this  let- 
ter on  the  wall  of  the  sacristies  of  their  churches  for  thirty  days, 
in  such  a  manner  that  it  may  easily  be  seen  and  read  by  all. 

This  order  goes  into  effect  immediately  upon  receipt 
thereof. 

Given  at  Chicago,  on  this  26th  day  of  October,  1901. 
f  Patrick  A.  Feehan,  Archbishop  of  Chicago. 

By  order  of  the  most  Reverend  Archbishop, 

F.  J.  Barry,  Chancellor. 

This  unjust  and  invalid  ban  of  excommunication  was  re- 
moved within  two  months  by  Bishop  Scannell  of  Omaha, 
Nebraska,  U.  S.  A.,  he  acting  as  the  representative  of  the 
Papal  Delegate,  Cardinal  Martinelli.  I  made  no  apology  to 
the  priests  against  whom  charges  had  been  made,  and  I  made 
no  promise  to  desist  from  issuing  the  publication  the  announce- 
ment of  which  had  been  the  moving  cause  of  my  unjust  and 
invalid  excommunication. 

The  following  is  a  translation  of  the  Celebret  given  to  me 


56  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

by  Bishop  Scannell  upon  the  removal  of  the  ban  of  excommuni- 
cation :  \ 

RICHARD 

BY  DIVINE  MERCY  AND  FAVOR  OF  THE  APOSTOLIC   SEE   BlSHOP 

OF  OMAHA. 

To  the  Rev.  J.  J.  Crowley : 

By  these  presents  we  testify  that  you  for  honorable  rea- 
sons known  to  us  obtained  leave  of  absence  for  six  months, 
and  we  make  known  to  all  with  whom  you  may  come  in  con- 
tact that  you  are  of  good  moral  character,  and  that  as  far 
as  we  know  you  are  not  laboring  under  any  ecclesiastical  cen- 
sure or  canonical  impediment.  Wherefore  we  request  in  Christ 
the  Bishops  of  all  places  in  which  you  may  be  to  permit  you 
to  celebrate  the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass. 

In  proof  of  which  etc. 

Given  at  our  palace  at  Omaha  the  26th  day  of  December, 
A.  D.  1901.  |  Rjchard  Scannell, 

[Episcopal  Seal].  Bishop  of  Omaha. 

I  received  from  the  Archbishop  of  Chicago  the  follow- 
ing Celebret,  which  was  sent  in  obedience  to  the  command  of 
Cardinal  Martinelli: 

Chicago,  111.,  February  7th,  1902. 

The  Rev.  Jeremiah  J.  Crowley  is,  so  far  as  I  am  aware, 
under  no  ecclesiastical  censure  and  may  be  permitted  to  say 
mass  "  de  consensu  Or  dinar  ior urn!' 

Yours  faithfully, 
\  P.  A  Feehan,  Archbishop  of  Chicago. 

On  March  9,  1902,  I  celebrated  Solemn  High  Mass  in 
the  Archdiocese  of  Chicago,  and  I  quote  the  following  from 
the  headlines  of  The  Chicago  Tribune  of  the  next  day : 

Crowley  Again  a  Priest. 

Authorized  by  Martinelli  to  Celebrate  High  Mass.     Of- 
ficiates at  Special  Services  in  the  Church  of  the  Immacu- 
.late  Conception  and  is  Recognized  by  the  Congregation — 
Papal  Benediction  on  the  Parish  is  Received  and  Read 
to  the  Members. 

Most  solemn  promises  were  made  to  me  by  Cardinal  Mar- 
tinelli in  person  at  Washington,  of  a  parish  in  Chicago,  salary 


CARDINAL   MARTINELLI. 


58  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

from  the  time  I  was  ousted  from  my  Oregon  parish,  etc., 
but  none  of  these  promises  was  kept,  as  the  priests  against 
whom  the  twenty-five  prominent  pastors  had  made  grave 
charges  insisted  that  I  should  first  sign  an  apology  to  them. 
I  refused  to  "  whitewash  "  them. 

It  does  not  come  within  my  purpose  to  give  in  this 
publication  the  history  of  this  now  famous  and  still  pending 
Chicago  controversy.  The  publication  of  its  history  remains, 
perhaps,  for  the  future.  But  my  readers  will  probably  be 
able  to  glean  a  few  hints  of  its  facts  and  importance  by  perus- 
ing the  quotations  (a  volume  of  which  I  have  in  my  pos- 
session) which  I  now  give  from  religious  and  secular  publi- 
cations of  high  standing.  My  friends  insist  that  I ,  shall  not 
eliminate  from  them  the  flattering  expressions,  and  most  re- 
luctantly I  yield  to  their  advice. 

Leslie's  Weekly,  New  York,  Nov.  21  st,  1901. 
CHICAGO'S  FIGHTING  PRIEST. 

Father  Jeremiah  J.  Crowley,  until  recently  pastor  of  the 
Catholic  Church  at  Oregon,  111.,  was  the  central  figure  of  the 
most  sensational  incident  in  western  church  history,  Sunday, 
November  3d.  Defying  a  recent  edict  of  excommunication 
from  Cardinal  Martinelli,  of  Washington,  he  entered  the  Holy 
Name  Cathedral  in  Chicago,  while  solemn  high  mass  was  in 
progress,  and  took  a  seat  immediately  below  the  altar.  Chan- 
cellor F.  J.  Barry,  of  the  archdiocese  of  Chicago,  was  in  charge 
of  the  mass,  and  in  pursuance  of  the  laws  of  the  church  that 
no  excommunicated  priest  shall  be  allowed  to  take  part  in  the 
services  of  a  Catholic  Church,  ordered  Father  Crowley  to  leave. 
The  priest  quietly  refused  to  go.  The  music  was  stopped ;  the 
choir  filed  out,  and  the  priests  retired.  Chancellor  Barry  ex- 
plained the  situation  to  the  congregation,  most  of  whom  left ; 
low  mass  was  hurriedly  rendered,  and  Father  Crowley  re- 
mained to  the  end.  The  sensational  incident  had  its  origin  last 
July,  when  Father  Crowley,  in  connection  with  twenty-five 
other  priests,  protested  against  the  appointment  of  Peter  J. 
Muldoon  as  auxiliary  bishop  of  Chicago.  Archbishop  Fee- 
han  disregarded  the  protest.  Father  Crowley  resigned  from 
his  parish  in  Oregon.  Later  he  withdrew  the  resignation. 


INTRODUCTORY.  59 

The  archbishop,  however,  accepted  the  action  of  Father  Crow- 
ley  and  appointed  a  pastor  in  his  stead.  Father  Crowley  re- 
fused to  give  up  the  church  and  the  archbishop  secured  an 
injunction,  prohibiting  Father  Crowley  from  acting.  The  in- 
junction suit  is  still  pending.  The  archbishop  notified  Father 
Crowley  that  he  must  desist  in  his  charges  against  brother 
priests  or  suffer  excommunication.  Father  Crowley  refused 
to  withdraw  his  charges,  and  the  letter  of  excommunication 
by  Cardinal  Martinelli  was  printed  in  the  Chicago  press. 
Father  Crowley  insists  that  he  cannot  be  excommunicated 
without  a  trial. 

Father  Crowley  is  forty  years  old  and  a  man  of  striking 
physique*    He  is  gifted  as  a  scholar  and  orator. 

The  Ram's  florn.    Chicago,  November  3Oth,  1901. 

A  brave  and  pious  priest  in  the  Roman  Catholic  com- 
munion is  not  so  scarce  a  personage  as  he  was  within  the  mem- 
ory of  men  now  living.  Indeed,  it  is  the  character  of  the 
priesthood  that  has  been  the  chief  objection  which  men  have 
argued  against  this  ancient  church.  When  its  own  clergymen, 
however,  come  to  a  lively  appreciation  of  the  shortcomings 
of  their  order,  hope  arises  that  this  mighty  ecclesiastical  sys- 
tem may  have  within  itself  the  seeds  of  a  new  Kfe.  But  the 
reformation,  if  it  come,  will  not  be  without  stubborn  conflict, 
as  is  indicated  by  what  is  now  taking  place  in  the  archdiocese 
of  Chicago.  When  men  were  recently  raised  to  high  offices 
in  the  diocese,  a  young  priest,  Father  J.  J.  Crowley  by  name, 
asked  the  church  authorities  .for  a  thorough  investigation  of 
these  men's  records.  The  answer  was  a  sentence  of  dismissal 
of  Father  Crowley  from  his  own  parish,  which  he  was  serv- 
ing most  faithfully  and  acceptably,  and  after  it  appeared 
that  his  contention  was  being  seconded  and  supported  by  all 
honorable  Catholics,  he  was  summarily  excommunicated.  But 
this  loud  edict,  which  was  so  dreaded  once,  has  failed  to  alter 
the  fixed  purpose  of  Father  Crowley.  He  is  a  man  whom  it 
will  be  hard  to  defeat.  He  is  finely  endowed  physically,  stand- 
ing more  than  six  feet  high ;  mentally,  having  a  thorough 
classical  and  theological  training;  and  spiritually,  for  one  to 
look  into  his  open  face  and  clear  eyes  assures  one  that  he  is 
a  man  who  has  been  with  God.  Compared  with  the  types 
of  priest  that  are  seen  most  frequently,  slim,  ferret-eyed, 


6O  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

shifty,  designing  creatures,  or  greasy,  obese,  dull-witted  ones, 
Crowley  looks  like  a  man  from  another  planet. 

The  St.  Louis  Republic.     Sunday,  Dec.  1st,  1901. 
UNIQUE  CASE  OF  THE  REVEREND  JEREMIAH  J.  CROWLEY. 

The  case  of  the  Reverend  Father  Jeremiah  J.  Crowley,  a 
priest  of  the  Roman  Catholic  diocese  of  Chicago,  who 
was  excommunicated  recently  by  authority  of  Cardinal  Mar- 
tinelli,  furnishes  at  once  the  most  unique  and  the  most  inter- 
esting controversy  that  has  ever  arisen  between  that  wonder- 
ful church  and  one  of  its  anointed  ministers. 

It  differs  from  the  McGlynn  case,  which  was  one  of  di- 
rect disobedience  to  the  commands  of  Rome ;  it  differs  from  the 
famous  Koslowski  case,  which  was  one  of  schism ;  it  differs 
from  all  the  minor  cases  in  which  the  accusations  against  the 
excommunicated  were  based  on  immorality  or  religious  infi- 
delity. 

Father  Crowley  is  a  man  and  a  priest  of  high  intellect- 
ual endowments ;  one  of  rare,  almost  fanatical  piety.  His 
career  as  a  student,  as  a  citizen  and  as  a  minister  of  his 
church  is  exemplary  from  the  standards  of  measurement  with- 
in and  without  the  Roman  church.  A  product  of  Carlow  Col- 
lege, a  living  example  of  the  genuine  Irish  gentleman,  young, 
handsome,  a  giant  physically  and  yet  a  person  of  much  ten- 
derness, as  well  as  courage,  Father  Crowley  stands  forth  in 
his  own  right  as  a  personage  sure  to  prepossess  acquaintances 
and  likely  to  win  and  hold  their  high  regard.  He  is  abstemious 
in  his  habits,  industrious  to  the  limit  of  his  great  physical 
power,  studious  to  a  degree,  intensely  sincere,  direct  and  frank 
of  mind  and  manner. 

The  very  character  and  reputation  of  the  man  make  his 
present  sad  plight  incredible  to  strangers.  He  has  been  cursed 
by  Rome  through  a  published  document  of  excommunication 
uttered  by  Cardinal  Martinelli.  If  he  died  to-day  his  body 
would  be  denied  burial  in  holy  ground.  His  presence  at  mass 
in  the  parish  church  of  Archbishop  Feehan  in  Chicago  has 
been  sufficient  to  stop  the  ceremonial.  If  Lucifer  himself  had 
appeared  in  the  church,  no  greater  consternation  could  have 
reigned  amongst  the  priests  celebrating  the  sacrifice.  The 
music  ceased,  the  lights  were  quenched  and  the  high  cere- 
monial was  abandoned.  The  preacher  leveled  his  logic  and 


INTRODUCTORY.  6l 

his  eloquence  against  the  outlawed  priest,  who,  in  spite  of  her 
malediction,  was  kneeling  there  worshipful,  silent,  alone  and, 
as  it  seemed,  defenseless  against  the  pontifical  thunderbolts 
falling  around  him. 

Having  thus  pilloried  a  good  man  and  a  good  priest  be- 
fore all  men,  the  authorities  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church 
have  at  least  invited  the  astonished  curiosity  of  all  religionists, 
all  thoughtful  men.  What  has  Father  Crowley  done  to  incur 
the  most  awful  curse  that  can  befall  either  a  Catholic  layman 
or  priest? 

According  to  his  own  statement,  he  began,  many  months 
ago,  to  oppose  and  expose  the  alleged  sinful  machinations  of 
a  number  of  clergymen  then  and  now  high  in  the  councils  of 
the  Chicago  diocese.  To  his  Archbishop,  and  through  him  to 
Rome,  he  protested  against  certain  deeds  of  priests  whose  lives, 
thought  Father  Crowley,  were  a  menace  to  his  church  and  a 
blasphemy  against  her  holiest  teachings.  At  first  he  waged 
•his  crusade  through  the  secret  channels  of  the  hierarchy,  not 
that  he  feared  candor,  but  to  evade  scandal  if  possible. 

His  efforts  were  absolutely  ignored.  If  his  communica- 
tions, offers  of  evidence,  names  of  witnesses  and  other  state- 
ments ever  reached  the  proper  authorities,  they  elicited  no 
action  or  response.  Then  came  Archbishop  Feehan's  declara- 
tion that  he  would  appoint  the  Reverend  P.  J.  Muldoon  as 
auxiliary  Bishop  of  Chicago.  Twenty-five  priests  of  the  dio- 
cese, one  of  whom  was  Father  Crowley,  protested  against  the 
appointment  on  grounds  already  exploited  in  the  secret 
crusade  against  corruption  and  sin  in  the  high  places.  The 
Archbishop  ignored  this  protest  and  preparations  for  the  con- 
secration of  Father  Muldoon  proceeded. 

Then  Father  Crowley  gave  to  the  world  a  story  of  al- 
leged priestly  decadence  and  corruption  such  as  has  been  sel- 
dom charged  even  against  ordinary  self-respecting  men  of  the 
world.  The  question  as  to  whether  these  charges  were  true 
was  never  raised  by  the  church  authorities.  The  first  action 
of  the  diocesan  was  to  begin  civil  proceedings  to  relieve 
Father  Crowley  of  his  mission  as  pastor  of  St.  Mary's  Church 
at  Oregon,  111.  The  priest  defended  the  injunction  suit  thus 
brought,  on  the  ground  that  he  had  been  neither  accused,  tried 
nor  found  guilty  of  anything  that  could  debar  him  from  his 
rights  as  pastor.  But  he  bowed  to  the  arm  of  the  civil  law 
and  obeyed  the  en  joinder.  A  priest  was  sent  thither  to  sup- 


62  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

plant  him.  The  case  took  its  place  on  the  docket  of  the  Cir- 
cuit Court  of  Ogle  County.  The  briefs  then  issued  by  Crow- 
ley's  attorneys  contained  between  the  flyleaves  a  slip  of  paper 
announcing  that  later  Father  Crowley  would  publish  a  book 
exposing  the  alleged  state  of  affairs  in  the  diocese  of  Chicago. 

Father  Crowley  and  his  friends  believe  that  this  threat 
(never  carried  out)  was  the  true  cause  for  the  commotion 
which  followed  in  the  high  councils  of  the  Catholic  Church. 
The  offending  priest  was  warned  that  unless  he  withdrew  all 
past  charges,  expressed  penitence  and  accepted  the  punishment 
which  Archbishop  Feehan  might  mete  out  within  ten  days 
he  (Crowley)  would  be  excommunicated.  The  priest,  yet  be- 
lieving that  his  charges  were  true  and  uttered  in  a  holy  cause, 
refused  to  recall  his  words.  He  permitted  the  ten  days  to 
elapse. 

A  printed  circular,  with  Cardinal  Martinelli's  name  at- 
tached, was  served  upon  him  by  three  constables,  hired  lay- 
men, while  the  priest  was  at  dinner.  It  proved  to  be  a  stere- 
otyped form  of  excommunication  and  upon  the  same  day  was 
posted  in  the  sanctuaries  of  every  Catholic  Church  in  the  dio- 
cese. It  was  a  shocking  surprise  to  Crowley,  who  expected 
at  least  a  trial.  The  causes  for  the  decree  of  excommunication 
were  summed  up  as  (first),  "  appealing  to  a  civil  court."  To 
this  Father  Crowley  replies  that  it  was  his  Archbishop  and 
not  he  who  went  into  the  civil  court.  The  second  charge  was 
that  Crowley  had  sought  to  defend  himself  in  a  civil  court 
at  law.  To  this  the  priest  replies  that  neither  priest  nor  man 
needs  an  excuse  for  self-preservation.  The  third  charge  was 
to  the  effect  that  he  had  threatened  to  expose  the  "  unfor- 
tunate diocese  of  Chicago  as  he  believes  it  to  exist." 

To  this  last  and  most  significant  accusation  Father  Crow- 
ley  answers :  "  I  threatened  to  tell  the  truth  about  this  diocese 
for  no  other  motive  than  to  further  the  best  interest  and  pre- 
serve the  sanctity  of  my  Holy  Mother  Church.  I  do  not  be- 
lieve that  my  church  is  benefited  by  the  suppression  of  truth 
and  the  continuation  of  evil  men  in  her  holiest  offices.  If  I 
have  falsified,  why  do  they  not  investigate,  and  prove  me  false  ? 
But  I  have  not.  My  charges  were  supplemented  by  willing 
and  credible  witnesses,  names  and  dates.  I  am  not  fighting 
my  church  and  never  will.  I  am  fighting  the  evil  men  who, 
in  this  diocese  at  least,  are  sapping  her  power,  dishonoring  her 
sanctuaries  and  blaspheming  the  God  of  all  Christians.  If 


INTRODUCTORY.  63 

that  be  a  crime,  I  do  not  understand  what  loyalty,  decency 
and  virtue  mean.  But,  right  or  wrong,  I  am  entitled  to  a 
trial.  The  meanest  criminal  is  supposed  to  be  innocent  until 
proven  guilty.  My  worst  enemies  accuse  me  of  no  sin.  I 
believe  that  my  church  will  yet  hear  me  ;  that  she  will  uphold  me. 
But,  come  what  may,  I  shall  never  fight  against  nor  villify 
my  church.  I  shall  remain  a  Roman  Catholic,  as  I  was  born 
and  as  I  am  to-day." 

Father  Crowley  has  appealed  to  Rome  through  the  Amer- 
ican Ablegate,  Cardinal  Martinelli.  He  is  willing  to  with- 
draw from  the  fight  if  the  church  authorities  will  appoint  an 
unbiased  court  and  investigate  the  charges  he  has  made  against 
his  fellow-priests  of  this  diocese.  He  is  willing  to  abide  by  the 
results  of  that  investigation.  He  believes  it  will  be  given. 

Meanwhile  he  continues  to  attend  holy  mass  in  the  face 
of  physical,  oratorical  and  tacit  opposition.  His  opponents, 
clerical  and  lay,  insist  that  he  has  already  committed  the  un- 
pardonable crime  of  scandalizing  his  church  by  accusations 
against  her  clergy.  They  insist  that  even  the  truth  of  those 
charges  cannot  condone  the  inherent  offense.  His  friends 
and  adherents,  and  they  include  some  of  the  ablest  and  best 
of  the  priests  and  laity  of  the  Chicago  diocese,  contend  that 
there  can  be  no  sin  in  telling  truth,  in  exposing  corruption, 
no  matter  how  cloaked  with  the  sacred  vesture  of  office.  They 
say  that  there  are  bad  priests,  just  as  there  are  bad  preachers, 
bad  merchants,  dishonest  lawyers,  but,  they  argue,  it  is  the 
duty  of  honest  Catholics  to  "  drive  them  out." 

(The  Interior,  April  3,   1902.     Editorial  Column.) 

Every  new  movement  made  by  Archbishop  Feehan  and 
Bishop  Muldoon  of  this  city  to  crush  Father  Crowley  is  of 
a  nature  calculated  to  convince  the  Protestant  onlooker  that 
the  priest  has  attacked  the  prelates  and  their  favorites  at  a 
point  .where  they  do  not  dare  to  make  a  fair  reply.  Father 
Crowley's  charges  of  immorality  among  the  clergy  of  the  dio- 
cese have  been  definite  enough  in  all  conscience  to  deserve 
attention,  but  his  overlords  absolutely  refuse  to  order  or- sub- 
mit to  investigation.  As  a  climax  to  his  tyranny  Archbishop 
Feehan  has  issued  an  edict  prescribing  that  any  priest  who 
gives  countenance  to  Crowley  shall  by  that  act  be  automatically 
suspended  from  the  priesthood.  This  is  done  in  spite  of  the 
fact  that  Father  Crowley  has  been  upheld  by  the  highest 


64  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

authority  of  the  Catholic  hierarchy  in  this  country,  Monsignor 
Martinelli,  and  stands  now  in  perfect  nominal  relations  to  the 
church.  This  decree  of  ostracism,  a  punishment  not  only 
without  conviction  but  even  without  charges,  is  full  of  the 
very  spirit  of  the  old-time  Inquisition.  We  can  only  hope  that 
for  it  the  archbishop  will  incur  the  avenging  wrath  of  the  papal 
delegate  whose  will  he  has  virtually  defied.  Martinelli,  of 
course,  is  as  tyrannical  as  anybody,  but  there  would  be  some 
rude  kind  of  justice  in  an  apportionment  to  Feehan  of  a  good 
big  dose  of  his  own  sort  of  medicine. 

The  Ram's  Horn,  Chicago,  June  28,  1902,  Editorial  Column. 

The  most  important  question  before  the  Vatican  is,  what 
will  it  do  with  the  many  protests  on  file  there  against  the  ir- 
regularities and  immoralities  in  the  church  itself?  These  are 
made  by  good  Catholics.  They  are  not  attacks  from  wjthout, 
but  are  appeals  from  priests  and  people  within.  Conditions 
as  they  exist  in  the  archdiocese  of  Chicago  are  perhaps  akin 
to  those  which  exist  elsewhere.  Instead  of  disproving  Father 
Crowley's  charges  or  giving  him  a  chance  to  prove  them,  the 
church  excommunicated  him.  He  was,  however,  almost  im- 
mediately restored  to  church  communion,  which  act  was  a 
confession  that  he  was  right,  and  yet  there  is  no  evident  in- 
tention of  cleansing  the  church  of  its  unworthy  priests. 

Archbishop  Feehan  died  July  I2th,  1902,  and  Bishop 
Quigley,  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  was  appointed  his  successor,  com- 
ing to  Chicago  March  10,  1903. 

Archbishop  Quigley  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Chicago,  with 
full  knowledge  of  the  villainy  of  some  of  the  priests  of  his 
Archdiocese  complained  of  by  the  twenty-five  protesting  pas- 
tors, has  demanded  that  I  sign  a  document  which  would  in 
effect  whitewash  them.  At  our  last  interview  he  handed  me 
an  apology  in  Latin  and  what  purported  to  be  a  translation 
of  it  in  English,  the  latter  paper  bearing  across  its  top  in  the 
handwriting  of  His  Grace  the  words,  "  Authentic  translation. 
J.  E.  Quigley."  I  now  give  a  photographic  copy  of  this  trans- 
lation. 


Chicago,  111. 
Most  Reverend  and  Dear  Archbishop: 

Having  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  course  pursued  by  me 
for  the  last  two  years  ie  altogether  wrong,  and  having  in  mind  the 
solemn  promise  of  reverence  and  obedience  to  my  Bishop,  wh'ich  I  made 
on  the  day  of  my  ordination,  I  hereby  renew  that  promise  and  pledge 
myself  to  be  henceforth  to  your  Grace,  an  obedient  son  in  Christ. 

I  regret  and  deplore  the  injury  I  have  done  to  certain  of 
my  fellow-priests  by  publishing  charges  against  them  after  said  charges 
had  been  duly  considered  and  set  aside  by  the  competent  ecclesiastical 
authority,  and  I  pledge  myself  to  accept  any  penance  which  your  Grace 
ray  deem  fit  in  satisfaction  therefor. 

I  sincerely  engage  myself  to  do  all  in  my  power  to  stop  the 
further  publication  of  anything  which  may  give  scandal  or  offense.  I 
hereby  bind  myself  to  submit  all  matters  of  grievance  or  dispute  be- 
tween me  and  my  confreres  to  the  judgment  of  the  proper  ecclesiastical 
authorities;  and  I  will  abide  by  their  decision.   Therefore  I  havo 
withdrawn  certain  cases  now  pending  in  the  civil  courts,  specified  by 
me  in  another  letter  of  even  date  with  this;  renouncing  at  the  same 
time  all  right  on  my  part  to  re-open  then. 

Henceforth  I  shall  earnestly  endeavor  to  repair  my  short-com- 
ings of  the  past.  I  will  accept  without  question  any  charge  your  Grace, 
shall  confer  upon  me  after  my  re-instatement.  Your  Grace  has  my  per- 
mission to  make  public  this  letter  at  any  time  or  in  any  way  you  may 
select.  Trusting  that  your  Grace  will  find  it  possible  to  restore  me 
shortly  to  the  full  exercise  of  faculties  as,.a,  priest  of  the  Arck- 
dioceso  of  Chicago,  I  remain, 

Your  Grace's^ 
most  obedient  servant  in  Christ, 


To  the  Most  Reverend  James  Edward  Quigley, 

Archbishop  of  Chicago. 


66  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

Catholic  people,  note  this:  I  was  but  one  of  a  band  of 
twenty-five  priests  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Chicago  who  pro- 
tested against  clerical  corruption.  I  alone  am  made  to  feel  the 
weight  of  ecclesiastical  displeasure,  and  I  alone  am  commanded 
to  apologize  for  telling  the  truth.  I  have  been  subjected  to 
persecution.  My  name  has  been  unjustly  removed  from  the 
directory  of  the  Catholic  clergy  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Chicago. 
I  have  not  received,  as  is  my  ecclesiastical  right,  any  financial 
support  from  the  funds  of  the  Archdiocese.  I  have  been  left 
without  a  parish,  without  a  home,  without  any  salary,  and  have 
been  uncanonically  forbidden  by  the  authorities  of  the  Chi- 
cago Archdiocese  to  say  Mass,  or  in  any  way  to  exercise  my 
"  faculties  "  as  a  priest  in  the  Archdiocese  of  Chicago,  although 
I  have  a  "  Cclcbret."  I  am  convinced  that  I  have  been  sub- 
jected to  this  cruel  treatment  with  the  deliberate  design  of  forc- 
ing me  to  apologize  to  corrupt  priests. 

For  the  information  of  my  readers  I  now  state  that  a 
"  Celebret "  is  a  canonical  document  which  is  given  to  a  priest 
by  the  head  of  the  diocese  to  which  he  belongs,  or  by  some 
higher  Church  dignitary  of  competent  jurisdiction,  when  that 
priest  travels  outside  of  his  own  diocese.  It  is,  in  effect,  a 
certificate  that  he  is  of  good  moral  character  and  not  laboring 
under  any  ecclesiastical  censure  or  canonical  impediment. 

I  have  never  looked  upon  the  face  of  Archbishop  Quig- 
ley  since  March  28,  1903,  when  he  handed  me  the  apologies 
in  Latin  and  English.  These  papers,  it  is  needless  to  say, 
remain  and  will  remain  unsigned.  I  will  never  sign  a  lie  for 
any  man,  be  he  layman,  priest,  Bishop,  Archbishop,  Cardinal 
or  Pope !  I  have  nothing  to  regret  or  retract.  I  can  only 
say :  God  save  the  Roman  Catholic  Church ! 

Archbishop  Falconio  succeeded  Cardinal  Martinelli  as 
Papal  Delegate  to  the  Church  in  the  United  States.  He  was 
made  fully  acquainted  with  the  details  of  the  Chicago  con- 
troversy by  a  mass  of  official  documents  on  file  in  the  Dele- 
gation Office;  and  a  correspondence  ensued  between  His  Ex- 
cellency and  myself  looking  towards  a  settlement  of  it.  I 
now  give  a  photographic  copy  of  one  of  his  letters  to  me : 


tRnitcd  States  of  America. 


Tkii  A'o.  i/ktuU  hi  t'tJStttl  to  Ikt  a*mtr 


^jSZ,'*.* 


s 


^i***- 


68  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

My  reply  to  the  letter  of  Archbishop  Falconio  of  June 
6,  1903,  was  as  follows: 

Sherman  House,  Chicago,  June  9,  1903. 
His  Excellency, 

Most  Revd.  Diomede  Falconio, 

Apostolic  Delegate, 

Washington,  U.  S.  A. 
May  it  Please  your  Excellency: 

I  beg  to  own  receipt  of  your  kind  favor  of  the  6th  inst., 
in  which  you  inform  me  that  you  have -been  carefully  look- 
ing into  my  case,  and  that  you  are  ready  to  render  your  de- 
cision. 

I  should  be  glad  to  comply  with  your  request  to  come 
to  Washington  on  the  I9th  inst.,  accompanied  by  my  advocate. 
But  the  fact  is  the  latter  gentleman  is  now  in  California,  on 
an  indefinite  leave  of  absence.  Moreover,  I  am  somewhat 
deterred  by  the  consideration  of  expense,  since  this  would  be 
my  third  journey  to  Washington  on  a  similar  errand,  both 
of  which  proved  fruitless,  and  I  scarcely  feel  justified  in  thus 
using  funds  generously  contributed  by  loyal  friends  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  country,  to  whom  I  feel  in  a  measure 
responsible.  You  will  kindly  bear  in  mind,  your  Excellency, 
that  I  am  placed  in  this  dependent  position  by  reason  of  the 
fact  that,  though  I  am  a  priest  of  this  Archdiocese,  I  have 
not  been  allowed  one  dollar  for  salary  or  support  since  Aug. 
3,  1901.  In  view  of  my  inability  to  come  to  Washington  with 
my  advocate,  I  must  trust  to  your  fair  consideration  of  the 
subject,  which  has  been  fully  presented  to  you  in  person  by 
my  advocate  and  myself,  April  3rd,  1903,  and  later,  in  a 
formal  written  statement,  under  date  of  April  I7th. 

Permit  me  again  to  beg  simply  that  I  may  have  your 
early  decision.  With  profound  esteem,  I  am, 

Your  most  obedient  and  humble  servant  in  Xt, 

Jeremiah  J.  Crowley. 

About  June  17,  1903,  Archbishop  Falconio  and  Arch- 
bishop Quigley  met  in  the  City  of  Allegheny,  Pennsylvania, 
and  discussed  the  Chicago  controversy.  Archbishop  Falconio 
evidently  departed  from  that  interview  determined  to  use  his 
influence  to  compel  me  to  sign  the  apology  which  had  been 


INTRODUCTORY.  69 

presented  to  me  by  Archbishop  Quigley,  a  photographic  copy 
of  the  English  translation  of  which  I  have  already  given. 

My  canonist  is  one  of  the  most  prominent  priests  in  the 
Catholic  Church  in  America,  and  he  told  me  that  Archbishop 
Falconio  placed  in  his  hands  in  the  City  of  Washington,  on 
June  19,  1903,  a  document  which  was  signed  by  fourteen  of 
the  accused  priests,  in  which  they  begged  the  Papal  Dele- 
gate to  compel  me  to  sign  an  apology  to  rehabilitate  them 
before  the  world,  solemnly  declaring  that  they  were  under 
such  a  cloud  since  the  accusations  against  them  had  been 
made  public  that  they  were  not  welcome  to  the  homes  of 
their  own  relatives.  On  this  occasion  Archbishop  Falconio 
told  my  canonist  that  he  would  be  in  Milwaukee  on  June 
30,  and  requested  him  to  tell  me  to  call  upon  him  there. 

I  now  give  an  abridged  account  of  the  interview  that  I 
had  by  appointment  with  Archbishop  Falconio,  the  successor 
of  Cardinal  Martinelli  as  Papal  Delegate  to  the  Catholic 
Church  in  America.  He  arrived  in  Milwaukee,  Saturday, 
the  27th  of  June,  1903.  I  went  to  Milwaukee  the  following 
Tuesday  morning  and  saw  His  Excellency.  He  said :  "  Are 
you  going  to  sign  that  apology  ?  "  I  said :  "  No,  Your  Ex- 
cellency, I  most  respectfully  decline  to  do  so."  He  said: 
"  Why?"  I  said:  "  Because  I  would  be  signing  a  lie!  Our 
charges  were  never,  as  it  states,  duly  considered  and  set  aside 
by  the  competent  ecclesiastical  authority."  He  said :  "  Yes 
they  were !  "  I  said :  "  How  ?  Do  you  mean  to  tell  me, 
Your  Excellency,  that  our  charges  were  duly  investigated  ?  " 
He  said:  u  They  were  not  investigated,  but  they  were  duly 
considered  and  set  aside."  I  asked :  "  How  were  they  duly 
considered  and  set  aside  ?  "  He  said :  "  Why,  your  superior 
officers  took  your  charges,  looked  at  them,  and  then  threw 
them  into  a  wastebasket!"  I  replied:  "Your  Excellency, 
I  must  insist  that  that  was  very  far  from  being  a  canonical 
consideration,  investigation  and  setting  aside  of  our  charges." 

Pius  X.  now  sits  in  Peter's  Chair.  I  am  confident  that 
in  due  time  His  Holiness  will  decide  the  Chicago  controversy 


7O  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

and  that  He  will  settle  it  on  the  basis  of  Fiat  justitia  ruat 
coelum — let  justice  be  done  though  the  heavens  fall. 

In  1897  I  took  out  my  first  naturalization  papers  in  Amer- 
ica ;  and  I  became  a  full-fledged  citizen  of  the  United  States 
in  1901.  I  do  not  forget  my  native  land!  The  shamrock,  is 
in  my  heart!  I  am  proud  of  an  Irish  ancestry  whose  char- 
acters were  formed  by  the  noblest  ecclesiastical  and  patriotic 
ideals.  But  America  is  my  country  by  adoption;  I  glory  in 
her  history;  I  rejoice  in  her  free  institutions;  my  ardent 
prayers  ascend  for  the  continued  blessing  of  Almighty  God 
to  be  poured  upon  her.  My  highest  civic  ambition  is  to  dis- 
charge to  the  letter  the  solemn  obligations  which  I  assumed 
in  my  oath  of  naturalization. 

Humbly  and  devoutly  I  thank  God  for  ever  calling  me  to 
minister  at  the  sacred  altars  of  His  Holy  Church.  My  supreme 
religious  joy  is  the  fact  that  I  am  in  her  priesthood.  I  have 
no  other  desire  than  to  be  faithful  unto  death  to  my  ditties  as 
a  Catholic  priest.  I  believe  that  the  Church  is  a  divine 
institution — the  bride  of  Christ.  For  Her  welfare  I  have 
counted  it  a  joy  to  labor;  for  Her  good  I  am  glad  to  suffer; 
in  Her  behalf  I  will  cheerfully  lay  down  life  itself.  In  the 
Catholic  Church  I  was  born;  in  the  Catholic  Church  I  have 
lived;  in  the  Catholic  Church  I  will  die. 

I  am  not  unmindful  of  the  seriousness  of  the  position 
which  I  take  in  openly  exposing  the  parochial  school,  in  directly 
championing  the  American  public  school,  and  in  boldly  assail- 
ing ecclesiastical  wickedness  in  high  and  low  places.  I 
know  full  well  the  greatness  of  the  power — financial,  social 
and  ecclesiastical — which  I  oppose.  I  know  that  it  has  vast 
capital  and  great  prestige.  I  know  that  it  dines  with  rulers 
and  is  on  terms  of  intimacy  with  governors,  judges  and  other 
public  officials.  I  know  by  several  personal  attacks  that  it  has 
henchmen  who  are  ready  to  take  life  for  pay.  I  know  that 
it  claims  to  be  able  to  muzzle  the  press,  and  that  by  a  show 
of  its  strength  it  stifles  protests  against  its  wrong-doing.  But 


INTRODUCTORY.  ?I 

I  know  some  other  things.  I  know  that  God  lives.  I  know 
that  the  genius  of  His  Church  is  against  ecclesiastical  corrup- 
tion of  every  kind.  I  know  that  the  honest  Catholic  people  of 
America  are  crying  out  for  deliverance  from  ecclesiastical  tyr- 
anny, immorality  and  grafting.  I  know  that  the  masses  of 
the  American  people  are  lovers  of  purity,  truth  and  justice, 
and  that  they  are  loyal  to  the  Republic.  I  know  that  this  is 
not  the  first  time  in  human  history  that  a  lone  man,  relying 
only  upon  the  blessing  of  God  and  the  approbation  of  decent 
men,  has  assaulted  intrenched  iniquity  and  overthrown  it.  I 
1  b  not  dread  the  struggle,  for 

"  Simple  duty  hath  no  place  for  fear." 


CHAPTER  II. 


THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL  AND  CATHOLIC  CLERICAL  HOS- 
TILITY TOWARD  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOL. 


HISTORIC  STATEMENT 

The  parochial  school  in  America  owes  its  beginning,  ac- 
cording to  Bishop  Spalding  of  Peoria,  Illinois,  to  the  German 
Catholics.  In  his  lecture  entitled,  "  The  Catholic  Church  in 
the  United  States,"  delivered  at  the  Church  of  Notre  Dame, 
Chicago,  January  24,  1904,  before  a  representative  audience, 
he  said: 

Fifty  years  ago  there  was  a  great  difference  of  opinion 
amongst  Catholics  in  this  country  about  the  religious  school. 
Some  of  the  leading  Bishops,  some  of  the  most  active  minds, 
had  misgivings, — were  rather  in  favor  of  simply  accepting 
the  school  as  it  existed,  and  of  not  attempting  to  create  a  dis- 
tinctively religious  school.  We  owe,  I  think,  this  great  move- 
ment, or  at  least  the  beginning  of  this  great  movement,  largely 
to  the  German  Catholics. 

It  was  among  the  German  Catholics  first  that  insistence 
upon  the  necessity  of  a  religious  school  was  made,  and  not 
made  wholly  from  religious  motives.  The  Germans,  as  you 
know,  are  of  all  people  in  this  country,  the  most  tenacious  of 
their  mother-tongue.  They  are  a  tenacious  race,  strong, 
sturdy,  persevering,  without  frivolity,  not  easily  influenced 
by  new  surroundings,  loving  their  own  customs,  as  well  as 
their  own  tongue. 

Now,  from  a  desire  to  perpetuate  their  language,  as  well 
as  from  a  desire  to  instill  into  the  minds  and  hearts  of  their 
children  the  faith  which  they  had  brought  across  the  ocean 
with  them,  they  began  to  establish  schools,  and  they  showed 
us  how  easy  it  is, — how  easily  a  congregation  of  one  hundred 
families,  in  the  country,  in  villages,  can  build  and  maintain 
a  Catholic  school. 


ORIGIN — HATRED    OF    PUBLIC    SCHOOL.  73 

And  then,  attention  being  attracted  to  it,  it  more  and 
more  grew  upon  the  consciences  of  the  Catholic  Bishops, 
and  priests  and  people,  that  this  was  the  one  thing  that  God 
called  us  to  do,  more  than  anything  else,  if  we  would  make 
our  faith  abiding  here  in  this  new  world,  and  in  this  democratic 
society. 

THE  REAL  REASONS  FOR  ITS  ESTABLISHMENT. 

From  the  words  of  Bishop  Spalding  it  will  be  seen  that 
the  Catholic  parochial  school  in  America  is  many  years  younger 
than  the  American  public  school.  The  Bishop  attributes  the 
adoption  and  the  carrying  out  of  the  German  Catholics' 
parochial  school  idea  to  the  recognition  by  Catholic  bishops, 
priests  and  people  of  a  call  from  God.  The  fact  is  that  Cath- 
olic bishops  and  priests  were  the  ones  who  seized  upon  the 
parochial  school  idea.  The  Catholic  people  did  not  want  the 
parochial  school.  Why  did  the  priests  and  prelates  adopt  it 
and  why  do  they  champion  it  to-day  ?  The  answer  is  fourfold. 
First:  because  they  saw  and  see  that  there  never  can  be  any 
union  of  Church  and  State  in  this  Republic  as  long  as  its 
citizens  are  the  product  of  public  school-  Second :  they  saw 
and  see.  that  the  indoctrination  of  Catholic  children  with  lib- 
eral and  progressive  ideas  is  impossible  in  schools  wholly 
under  Catholic  clerical  influence.  Third:  they  saw  and  see 
that  the  parochial  school  gives  ample  opportunity  to  train 
Catholic  children  to  close  their  eyes,  ears  and  mouths  to  cler- 
ical drunkenness,  grafting  and  immorality.  Fourth:  they  saw 
and  see  in  the  parochial  school  an  immense  opportunity  for 
graft. 

The  Catholic  parochial  school  in  the  United  States  is  not 
founded  on  loyalty  to  the  Republic,  and  the  ecclesiastics  who 
control  it  would  throttle,  if  they  could,  the  liberties  of  the 
American  people. 

CLERICAL  COERCION  OF  CATHOLICS. 

It  is  my  profound  conviction  that  the  masses  of  the  Cath- 
olic people  prefer  the  public  schools,  and  that  they  send  their 


74  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

children  to  the  parochial  schools  to  avoid  eternal  punishment, 
as  their  pastors  preach  from  the  pulpit,  "  Catholic  parents  who 
send  their  children  to  the  godless  public  schools  are  going 
straight  to  hell/' 

The  Jesuits  are  particularly  vicious  toward  the  public 
school.  In  the  Holy  Family  Church,  the  largest  parish  in 
Chicago,  in  1902,  during  a  mission,  at  which  there  were  pres- 
ent at  least  2500  people,  all  being  women,  the  Jesuit  preacher 
said: 

Parents  who  send  their  children  to  the  godless  public 
schools  are  going  straight  to  hell.  I  make  this  statement  in 
the  presence  of  the  Blessed  Sacrament.  Now,  I  want  you  good 
mothers,  whose  children  attend  the  parochial  school,  to  kneel 
down  and  offer  up  with  me,  from  the  bottom  of  your  hearts, 
three  Our  Fathers  and  three  Hail  Marys  for  the  conversion 
of  these  wicked  and  benighted  parents  who  are  sending  their 
children  to  the  godless  public  schools. 

A  lady  friend  of  mine,  a  most  intelligent  and  respectable 
Catholic  mother,  told  me  she  never  was  in  such  a  plight  in 
her  life.  She  had  a  child  in  the  public  school,  and,  of  course, 
remained  seated.  Women  knelt  all  around  her.  Right  by  her 
side  knelt  a  drunken  woman,  who,  as  she  prayed  from  the  bot- 
tom of  her  heart,  in  unison  with  her  pastor,  peered  right  into 
her  face,  and  nearly  suffocated  her  with  the  fumes  of  whis- 
key. It  is  needless  to  add  that  my  friend  was  not  converted 
to  the  parochial  school. 

Some  priests  refuse  absolution  to  parents  whose  children 
attend  the  public  schools.  Others  compel  parents,  through 
the  confessional,  to  promise  to  send  their  children  to  the  pa- 
rochial schools. 

Catholic  children,  who  attend  the  public  school,  are  denied 
certain  spiritual  privileges.  I  quote,  as  an  illustration,  the 
following  from  the  Cathedral  Calendar,  published  by  the  Holy 
Name  Cathedral,  Chicago,  September,  1902;  p.  7: 


ORIGIN — HATRED    OF    PUBLIC    SCHOOL.  75 

Attendance  at  the  parish  school  will  be  an  absolutely 
necessary  condition  for  the  children  who  hope  to  make  their 
First  Holy  Communion  next  spring. 

In  some  parishes  the  children  of  Catholic  families  who 
attend  the  public  school  are  not  permitted  to  receive  their 
first  Holy  Communion  on  the  same  Sunday  morning  that 
the  parochial  school  children  receive  theirs,  but  have 
to  wait  a  week  or  two,  although  equally  prepared.  For  the 
parochial  school  communicants  special  preparations  are  made 
in  decorations,  processions,  music,  etc.  There  are  no  special 
preparations  made  by  the  pastor  for  the  public  school  com- 
municants. The  course  pursued  toward  the  public  school 
children  is  with  malice  aforethought  and  is  intended  to  so 
humiliate  them  (and  their  parents)  that  they  will  leave  the 
public  school. 

At  the  children's  Mass  on  Sunday  morning  the  parochial 
school  pupils  are  given  the  better  seats,  while  the  public  school 
scholars  are  crowded  into  the  undesirable  parts  of  the  church. 

To  show  still  further  the  pressure  put  by  prelates  upon 
Catholic  parents  to  force  them  to  send  their  children  to  pa- 
rochial schools  I  quote  from  page  4  of  The  Catholic  Telegraph 
(published  in  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  U.  S.  A.)  of  August  25,  1904, 
the  following  letter : 

To  the  Clergy  and  Laity  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Cincinnati : 
Dearly  Beloved: 

As  the  Catholic  schools  are  about  to  open,  We  consider 
it  opportune  to  address  you  on  the  important  obligation  of 
parents  to  provide  for  the  Catholic  education  of  their  children. 
There  are,  We  regret  to  be  obliged  to  say,  some  fathers  and 
mothers,  who,  either  for  the  sake  of  fancied  advantages,  or 
through  indifference,  or  on  account  of  feeling  against  priest 
or  teacher  send  their  children  to  non-Catholic  schools. 

It  is  undeniable,  that  as  a  rule,  all  Catholic  teaching  is 
excluded  from  non-Catholic  schools  and  that  in  them  there  is 
usually  present  some  kind  of  false  religious  influence.  Now 
a  system  of  education  for  the  young,  in  which  Catholic  faith 
and  the  direction  of  the  Church  are  excluded,  can  not  be  ap- 


76  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

proved  by  any  Catholic.  The  Church  considers  it  vital  to  a 
child's  faith,  that  the  spirit  of  religion  should  animate  every 
part  of  the  scholar's  task,  and  influence  every  hour  of  his  time 
in  school.  The  teachers  should  be  good  Catholics,  well  in- 
structed in  their  faith,  and  be  capable  to  thoroughly  drill  the 
children  in  religion.  The  Church  recognizing  this  necessity 
has  always  opposed  the  separation  of  education  and  religion, 
and  hence  has  condemned  those  who  advocate  it.  .  .  In  the 
Encyclical  of  Leo  XIII.  "  Noblissima  "  of  the  8th  of  February, 
1884,  occur  the  following  words :  "  The  Church  has  over  and 
over  again  loudly  condemned  those  schools  which  are  called 
Mixed  or  Neutral,  warning  parents  to  be  careful  in  a  thing 
so  momentous." 

These  pronouncements  of  the  Holy  See  are  the  law  for 
all.  The  legislation  of  the  III.  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore 
is  based  upon  them.  It  is  evident,  then,  that  the  doctrine  of 
the  church,  which  it  would  be  erroneous,  scandalous  and  even 
savoring  of  heresy  to  contradict,  is  that  to  attend  a  non-Cath- 
olic school  constitutes  usually  a  grave  and  permanent  dan- 
ger to  faith,  and  that,  therefore,  it  is  a  mortal  sin  for  any 
parents  to  send  their  children  to  such  a  school,  except  where 
there  is  no  other  suitable  school,  and  unless  such  precautions 
are  taken  as  to  make  the  danger  remote. 

In  applying  this  teaching  to  practical  life  there  are  dif- 
ficulties. We  often  meet  with  parents  who  object  to  sending 
their  children  to  Catholic  schools  on  account  of  certain  fea- 
tures which  they  dislike  or  who  prefer  non-Catholic  schools 
on  account  of  certain  advantages.  They  claim  that,  if  they 
take  due  precaution  to  have  their  children  properly  instructed 
and  brought  up  in  piety,  they  can  not  justly  be  interfered  with. 
But  such  a  claim  can  not  be  admitted.  This  is  a  religious 
question  and  is,  therefore,  within  the  sphere  of  the  Church 
authority.  In  such  questions  it  belongs  to  the  Church  not 
only  to  pronounce  on  the  principle  involved,  but  also  on  its 
application  to  particular  cases  and  individual  Catholics.  It 
is  the  office  of  the  Bishops,  as  the  III.  Plenary  Council  of  Balti- 
more teaches,  to  judge  both  of  the  alleged  necessity,  and  of  the 
sufficiency  of  the  precaution.  This  is  a  matter,  then,  which 
lies  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  spiritual  power,  and  it  is  far 
from  the  true  Catholic  spirit  to  decide  such  a  grave  question 
for  oneself. 

Moreover,  there  is  another  aspect  of  the  subject  which 


ORIGIN — HATRED    OF    PUBLIC    SCHOOL.  77 

shows  still  more  clearly  how  necessary  it  is  to  abide  by  the 
judgment  of  the  Church.  It  is  almost  impossible  for  a  Cath- 
olic parent  to  send  his  child  to  a  non-Catholic  school  anywhere 
in  the  country  where  there  is  a  Catholic  one  without  causing 
scandal.  That  is  to  say,  such  action  suggests  to  other  Cath- 
olic parents  to  do  the  same ;  it  has  the  appearance  of  religious 
indifference ;  and  it  tends  to  break  down  the  strictness  and  firm- 
ness of  Catholic  faith.  It  is,  therefore,  nearly  always,  a  very 
grievous  scandal  especially  when  the  parent  in  question  is  a 
person  of  some  standing  and  influence.  Now  an  action  which 
involves  scandal  of  this  kind  can  only  be  justified  by  a  very 
grave  necessity.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  parent,  therefore,  to  take 
the  judgment  of  the  Church  both  upon  the  possible  extent  of 
the  scandal  and  the  reason  for  risking  it.  The  foregoing  prin- 
ciples justify  us  in  laying  down  the  following  rules: 

1.  In  places  where  there  is  a  Catholic  school  parents  are 
obliged  under  the  pain  of  mortal  sin  to  send  their  children  to 
it.     This  rule  holds  good,  not  only  in  case  of  children  who 
have  not  yet  made  their  first  Communion,  but  also  in  case  of 
those  who  have  received  it.     Parents  should  send  their  chil- 
dren to  the  Catholic  school  as  long  as  its  standards  and  grades 
are  as  good  as  those  of  the  non-Catholic  school.     And  even 
if  there  is  no  school  attached  to  the  congregation  of  which 
parents  are  members,  they  would  still  be  obliged  to  send  their 
children  to  a  parochial  school,  college  or  academy,  if  they  can 
do  so  without  great  hardships  either  to  themselves  or  to  their 
children. 

2.  It  is  the  province  of  the  Bishop  to  decide  whether  a  par- 
ish  should   be   exempted   from   having  a   parish   school,   and 
whether,  in  case  there  be  a  Catholic  in  the  place,  parents  may 
send  their  children  to  a  non-Catholic  school.    Each  case  must  be 
submitted  to  Us,  except  when  there  is  question  of  children  liv- 
ing three  or  more  miles  distant  from  a  Catholic  school.     Such 
children  can  hardly  be  compelled  to  attend  the  Catholic  school. 

3.  As   the   obligation  of  sending  a  child  to  a   Catholic 
school  binds  under  the  pain  of  mortal  sin,  it  follows  that  the 
neglect  to  comply  with  it,   is  a  matter  of  accusation,   when 
going  to  confession.     We  fail  to  see  how  fathers  and  mothers 
who  omit  to  accuse  themselves  of  this  fault  can  believe  that 
they  are  making  an  entire  confession  of  their  sins. 

4.  Confessors  are  hereby  forbidden  to  give  absolution  to 
parents,  who  without  permission  of  the  Archbishop  send  their 


78  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

children  to  non-Catholic  schools,  unless  such  parents  promise 
either  to  send  them  to  the  Catholic  school,  at  the  time  to  be 
fixed  by  the  Confessor,  or,  at  least  agree,  within  two  weeks 
from  the  day  of  confession,  to  refer  the  case  to  the  Archbishop, 
and  abide  by  his  decision.  If  they  refuse  to  do  either  one  or 
the  other,  the  Confessor  can  not  give  them  absolution,  and 
should  he  attempt  to  do  so,  such  absolution  would  be  null  and 
void.  Cases  of  this  kind  are  hereby  numbered  among  the  re- 
served cases  from  September  I,  1904. 

5.  The  loss  of  Catholic  training  which  the  children  suffer 
by    being    sent    to    non-Catholic    schools    must    as    far     as 
possible  be  counteracted.     Wherefore,  we  strictly  enjoin  that 
Diocesan  Statute  No.  64,  be  adhered  to :     "  We  decree  that 
those  who  are  to  be  admitted  to  first  holy  Communion  shall 
have  spent  at  least  two  years  in  Catholic  Schools.     This  rule 
is  to  be  observed  also  by  superiors  of  colleges  and  academies." 
This  Statute  was  enacted  in  Our  Synod  in  1898,  and  we  regret 
that  it  has  not  always  been  observed.     The  necessity  of  com- 
plying with  it  is  evident.     It  is  difficult  to  properly  prepare 
for    first    Communion    even    the    children    who    have    always 
attended    Catholic    schools;    and    it    is    simply    impossible    to 
do  so  when  the  children  are  allowed  to  go  to  non-Catholic 
schools  up  to  a  few  months  before  they  are  to  make  their 
first  holy  Communion.     Pastors,  superiors  of  academies  and 
colleges  are  admonished  to  observe  this  regulation.     No  ex- 
ception is  to  be  made  to  it  without  Our  permission.    In  places 
where  there  is  no  Catholic  school,  Pastors  will  confer  with 
Us  as  to  the  provision,  which  should  be  made  for  the  instruc- 
tion for  first  Communion. 

6.  Pastors  seeking  to  prevent  parents  from  taking  their 
children  too  soon  out  of  school  have  made  regulations  regard- 
ing the  age  of  first  Communion.    As  there  has  been  some  dis- 
crepancy in  regard  to  this  matter,  some  fixing  one  age,  some 
a   different   one,   and   in   consequence   causing   dissatisfaction 
among  parents  and  children,  We  hereby  direct  that  no  child 
shall  be  admitted  to  first  Communion,  made  publicly  and  sol- 
emnly, unless  it  has  completed  its  thirteenth  year  on  or  be- 
fore the  day  fixed  for  first  Communion. 

7.  It  is  the  Pastor's  duty  to  decide  whether  the  children 
of  his  parish  have  sufficient  knowledge  for  making  their  first 
Communion.      Hence,    children   attending   a    Catholic   school 
other  than  the  parish  school,  as  well  as  those  going  to  colleges 


•    ORIGIN — HATRED    OF    PUBLIC    SCHOOL.  79 

and  academies,  must  not  be  permitted  to  first  Communion  un- 
less  their   Pastor   has   testified   that   they  are   sufficiently   in- 
structed for  approaching  the  Holy  Table.  .  .  Pastors  will  read 
this  letter  to  their  Congregations  on  the  last  Sunday  in  August. 
May   God   bless  all,   and   especially   bless   parents,   their 
children  and  all  engaged  in  the  work  of  Catholic  education. 
Sincerely  yours  in  Christ, 

f  William  Henry  Elder, 

Archbishop  of  Cincinnati. 
Given  at  Cincinnati  this  i8th  day  of  August. 

In  the  Archdiocese  of  Chicago,  and  elsewhere,  there  is 
no  publicly  proclaimed  statute  such  as  obtains  in  the  Arch- 
diocese of  Cincinnati,  but  there  is  in  reality  a  rule  that  Cath- 
olic children  who  attend  the  public  schools  may  not  (at  the 
option  of  the  pastor)  receive  instruction  for  first  Communion. 
Several  of  the  Chicago  priests,  during  the  past  year,  have 
told  their  congregations  that  owing  to  orders  from  "  head- 
quarters "  they  would  be  compelled  to  refuse  instruction  for 
first  Communion  and  Confirmation  to  Catholic  children  who 
attended  the  public  schools. 

On  the  Sunday  preceding  the  opening  of  the  public 
schools  for  the  fall  term,  the  studied  attack  of  the  priests  upon 
the  "  godless  "  schools,  from  the  altar  or  the  pulpit,  is  appall- 
ing. The  intelligent,  independent  parents,  who  persist  in  send- 
ing their  children  to  the  public  schools,  are  pictured  as  finally 
arriving  in  hell,  and  their  children  as  moral  wrecks,  the  sons  in 
penitentiaries,  and  the  daughters  in  places  of  shame.  At  last 
there  is  a  family  reunion  in  the  place  of  the  damned,  where 
the  children  curse  their  parents,  and  say,  "  We  are  here  be- 
cause you  sent  us  to  the  godless  public  school." 

A  SPECIFIC  CASE  OF  COERCION  BY  A  SODOMITE. 

In  1899  an  imposing  church  dedication  took  place  in  the 
United  States.  The  dedicatory  sermon  was  preached  by  Arch- 
bishop Ireland  of  St.  Paul,  Minnesota.  The  occasion  was 
graced  with  the  presence  of  Archbishop  Kain  of  St.  Louis, 


8O  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

Missouri;  Bishop  Scannell  of  Omaha,  Nebraska;  Bishop 
O'Gorman  of  Sioux  Falls,  Iowa;  Rev.  Jeremiah  J.  Harty, 
pastor  of  St.  Leo's  Church,  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  and  now 
Archbishop  of  Manila,  Philippine  Islands ;  the  Very  Rev,  Wil- 
liam J.  Kerby,  Ph.  D.,  Professor,  of  Washington,  D.  C. ;  and 
many  others.  Letters  of  regret  were  received  from  Arch- 
bishop Christie  of  Portland,  Oregon;  Bishop  Hogan  of  Kan- 
sas City,  Missouri;  Bishop  Allen  of  Mobile,  Alabama;  and 
Bishop  Gallagher  of  Galveston,  Texas. 

Prior  to  the  dedicatory  sermon  the  pastor  announced  that 
the  parochial  school  would  open  the  following  Wednesday, 
and  in  this  connection  he  said : 

It  will  be  expected  that  all  of  the  children  of  this  parish 
shall  attend  this  school  if  they  attend  any.  I  have  determined 
that  I  will  not  ask  the  Archbishop  on  behalf  of  anybody  for 
permission  to  attend  any  school  other  than  the  parochial. 
Such  requests  must  go  directly  from  the  persons  desiring  the 
permission,  and  not  through  me. 

In  other  words  this  pastor  served  notice  upon  the  Catholic 
people  of  his  parish  that  their  children  must  go  to  the  paro- 
chial school  if  any,  and  that  Catholic  parents  would  have  to 
go  to  their  Archbishop  for  permission  to  send  them  elsewhere. 
Just  imagine  plain  Catholic  people  making  such  a  request  of 
their  Archbishop ! ! !  That  Archbishop  was  a  Krupp  gun 
against  the  public  school. 

This  pastor  was  later  formally  charged  with  sodomy, 
and  he  was  forced  to  leave  his  parish  by  enraged  lay  people, 
the  ecclesiastical  authorities  ignoring  (as  usual)  the  charges. 
He  is  on  terms  of  intimacy  with  princes  of  the  Church,  in- 
cluding American  Papal  Delegates,  and  he  was  instrumental 
at  Rome  in  securing  a  Philippine  Island  See  for  one  of  his 
bosom  American  clerical  chums.  He  is  now  himself  a  high 
dignitary  of  the  Church  in  the  Philippine  Islands.  I  shall  refer 
to  him  again  in  Chapter  IV.  of  this  book. 


ORIGIN — HATRED    OF    PUBLIC    SCHOOL.  8l 

NOT  FIVE  PER  CENT.  OF  CATHOLIC  MEN  FAVOR  PAROCHIAL 

SCHOOL. 

Catholic  public  school  opponents  declare  that  at  least  one- 
third  of  the  American  people  favor  their  position.  I  deny  it. 
I  am  morally  certain  that  not  five  per  cent,  of  the  Catholic  men 
of  America  endorse  at  heart  the  parochial  school.  They 
may  send  their  children  to  the  parochial  schools  to  keep  peace 
in  the  family  and  to  avoid  an  open  rupture  with  the  parish 
rector;  they  may  be  induced  to  pass  resolutions  of  approval 
of  the  parochial  school  in  their  lodges  and  conventions;  but 
if  it  ever  becomes  a  matter  of  blood  not  one  per  cent,  of  them 
will  be  found  outside  of  the  ranks  of  the  defenders  of  the 
American  public  school. 

If  a  perfectly  free  ballot  could  be  cast  by  the  Catholic  men 
of  America  for  the  perpetuity  or  suppression  of  the  parochial 
school,  it  would  be  suppressed  by  an  astounding  majority. 

The  plain  Catholic  laymen  know  that  the  public  school 
is  vastly  superior  to  the  parochial  school  in  its  methods,  equip- 
ment and  pedagogic  talent.  They  know,  too,  that  the  public 
is  the  poor  man's  school.  They  know  that  the  public  school 
prepares,  as  no  other  can,  their  children  for  the  keen  strug- 
gle of  American  life  and  the  stern  duties  of  American  citizen- 
ship. 

Prelates  and  priests  work  upon  the  fears  and  feelings  of 
the  women  and  children,  and  the  fathers,  to  have  peace  in  their 
families,  yield  and  send  their  children  to  the  parochial  school. 

CATHOLIC  CLERICAL  HOSTILITY  TOWARD  THE 
PUBLIC  SCHOOL. 

There  is  an  open,  notorious  and  virulent  hostility  of 
priests  and  prelates,  at  home  and  abroad,  toward  the  public 
school. 

Catholic  publications  are  filled  with  articles  and  editorials 
which  show  most  malignant  hatred  of  the  public  school. 

Catholic   clerical   hostility   toward   the  public   school   is 


82  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

a  fact  with  which  the  American  people  will  be  forced  to  deal 
sooner  or  later — the  sooner  the  better. 

ANNIHILATION  OF  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  THE  OBJECT. 

I  assert  that  it  is  the  set  purpose  of  the  great  majority 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  Hierarchy  in  America  to  destroy,  root 
and  branch,  the  present  system  of  Ameiican  public  schools. 

Bishop  Spalding  says  (as  I  have  quoted  in  the  beginning 
of  this  chapter),  "Fifty  years  ago  there  was  a  great  difference 
of  opinion  amongst  Catholics  in  this  country  about  the  religious 
(parochial)  school."  Unfortunately  the  clean  prelates  and 
priests  of  "  fifty  years  ago  "  were  whipped  into  line,  and  the 
unpatriotic  and  ruinous  course  of  attacking  the  public  schools 
prevailed. 

The  contents  of  this  book,  I  submit,  amply  support  my 
contention  under  this  heading. 

DESTRUCTIVE  CLERICAL  TACTICS. 

The  Catholic  clerical  scheme  to  utterly  destroy  the  Amer- 
ican public  school  has  these,  among  other,  phases : 

1.  The  bringing  of  the  public   school  into  contempt  by 
characterizing  it  as  "  godless,"  "  vicious,"  "  a  sink  of  corrup- 
tion," etc.,  etc. 

2.  The   securing   for   the    Catholic   parochial   school   the 
largest  possible  share  of  the  public  school  tax  funds. 

3.  The  encouraging  of  other  sects  to  start  sectarian  schools 
and  to  demand  public  moneys  in  payment  for  the  secular  edu- 
cation of  the  children. 

4.  The  securing  of  a  Catholic  majority  on  public  school 
boards  and  on  the  teaching  staff  of  the  public  schools  in  the 
hope  of  being  able  thereby  to  lower  the  tone  of  instruction  and 
discipline  in  the  public  schools  and  thus    bring    the    public 
schools  into  disfavor. 

5.  Securing  the  employment  of  nuns  and  monks  as  public 
school  teachers. 


ORIGIN — HATRED    OF    PUBLIC    SCHOOL.  83 

6.  The  prevention  of  normal  school  training  of  public 
school  teachers. 

By  these  and  other  means  Catholic  ecclesiastics  hope  to 
destroy  the  public  school  system,  and  to  make  the  parochial 
school  supreme. 

I  have  had  many  conversations  with  members  of  the 
American  Catholic  Hierarchy  during  the  past  eighteen  years 
about  the  public  and  parochial  schools  in  America.  The 
ecclesiastical  champions  of  the  latter  have  stated  that  the  in- 
sistent demand  of  the  Catholic  hierarchy  for  a  division  of  the 
public  school  money  would  eventually  be  granted;  that  the 
American  people  would  grow  weary  of  the  school  contention 
and  to  escape  it  would  adopt  the  Catholic  view;  that  then 
every  effort  would  be  made  to  secure  the  largest  possible 
grants  of  public  money;  that  the  other  sects  would,  out  of 
envy,  demand  similar  grants  for  their  various  schools,  and 
that  they  would  be  encouraged  by  the  Catholic  dignitaries  to 
press  their  claim ;  that  the  consequence  would  be  the  disrup- 
tion of  the  public  school  system  by  the  competition  and  an- 
tagonism of  such  sectarian  bodies;  and  that  the  ultimate  re- 
sult would  be  the  supremacy  of  the  Catholic  Church  in  secu- 
lar teaching  by  virtue  of  Her  strong  organization  and  great 
resources  through  Her  various  teaching  orders.  * 

THE  STATE  MUST  NOT  EDUCATE  THE  CHILD. 

Catholics  have  it  dinned  into  their  ears  constantly  that 
the  "  education  of  children  belongs  to  the  parents  and  is  foreign 
to  the  State,"  and  that  the  parents  cannot  yield  this  right  to 
the  State.  They  are  taught  that  the  State  is  excluded  from 
educating  children. 

The  logical  effect  of  this  assertion  is  to  take  the  educat- 
ing of  the  children  of  the  land  wholly  from  the  State  and  place  / 
it  entirely  in  the  control  of  the  parents  of  the  children.     If/ 
the  parents  are  religionists  who  believe  that  their  church  is 
the  mouth-piece  of  God,  then  the  education  of  their  children 
comes  naturally  under  the  control  of  their  church.     This 'doc- 


84  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

trine  would  give  to  the  Mormon  church,  for  example,  the  ex- 
clusive training  and  educating  of  all  Mormon  children.  And 
when  the'  parents  are  not  religionists  but  disciples  of  peculiar 
anti-social  tenets  this  doctrine  would  insure  the  rearing  of  the 
children  of  those  parents  in  those  anti-social  tenets.  The  right 
of  the  anarchist  under  this  doctrine  is  as  sacred  as  the  right 
of  the  Mormon  or  of  the  Catholic. 

But  I  contend  that  the  State  has  a  vital  interest  in  every 
child  born  within  its  borders.  The  State  is  in  the  child.  Self- 
protection  and  perpetuity  indicate  at  least  two  of  the  para- 
mount duties  of  the  State.  The  State  should  endeavor  to  pro- 
tect itself,  and  the  State  should  try  to  insure  its  own  per- 
petuity. Parents  may  be  permitted  to  educate  their  children 
but  it  is  always  on  the  presumption  that  the  education  they  im- 
part will  not  vitiate  the  State  and  tend  to  produce  its  downfall. 

If  parents  teach  their  children  to  steal,  the  State  must 
interfere.  If  parents  insist  upon  rearing  their  children  in  ig- 
norance, the  State  must  enforce  compulsory  education.  If 
parents  teach  their  children  traitorous  sentiments  towards  the 
Commonwealth  by  the  direction  of  their  church,  or  permit 
their  church  to  teach  such  sentiments  to  their  children  in  paro- 
chial schools,  the  State  is  recreant  to  its  paramount  duties  if 
it  does  not  intervene. 

The  fact  is  that  the  Catholic  ecclesiastical  enemies  of  the 
public  schools,  in  their  anxiety  to  imbue  the  Catholic  people 
with  a  belief  in  the  exclusive  right  and  duty  of  parents  to 
educate  their  children,  press  the  matter  too  far.  They  are 
serving  the  future,  however,  for  their  inimical  attitude  will 
eventually  cause  Americans  to  demand  a  full  ascertainment 
of  and  a  rigid  insistence  upon  the  rights  of  the  State  in  the 
child,  and  when  these  are  accomplished  secular  education  out- 
side of  public  schools  will  be  abolished. 

MINORITY  RIGHTS. 

The  plea  is  made  by  Catholic  ecclesiastics  that  the  minor- 
ity has  rights  as  well  as  the  majority.  But  in  reference  to 


ORIGIN — HATRED    OF    PUBLIC    SCHOOL.  85 

the  public  schools  there  is  no  minority.  '-'The  public  schools 
are  open  to  all  the  children — none  are  excluded.  It  is  silly 
for  any  set  of  people,  who  willfully  keep  their  children  from 
attending  the  public  schools,  to  declare  that  they  are  a  minor- 
ity in  the  Commonwealth  and  that  as  such  minority  they  have 
a  right  to  impart  to  their  children  secular  education  in  paro- 
chial schools  at  the  expense  of  the  State.  The  Mormons  can 
make  the  "  minority  "  plea  with  as  good  grace  as  Catholics. 
The  State  does  its  full  duty  when  it  provides  and  maintains 
a  thorough  system  of  secular  education  for  the  children  of 
the  Commonwealth,  free  to  all  the  children  alike.  Any  parent 
who  wants  something  else  seeks  a  superfluity  or  a  luxury  and 
should  pay  for  it  himself. 

The  plea  for  the  "  rights  of  the  minority  "  is  but  a  wily 
attempt   to   dignify   the  hateful   attitude   of  the   ecclesiastical   / 
opponents  of  the  public  schools,  and  to  excuse  the  reaching 
of  their  hands  into  the  public  purse. 

A  DIVISION  OF  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  FUNDS. 

* 

(Catholic  priests  and  prelates  are  demanding  a  share  of 
the  public  school  funds  as  pay  for  the  secular  education  which 
Catholic  children  receive  in  the  parochial  schools.  This  de- 
mand for  pay  for  the  secular  education  of  children  in  paro- 
chial schools  is  fairly  stated  by  Father  James  S.  Hayes,  a 
Jesuit,  who  is  quoted  with  approval  in  an  article  in  The  New 
World,  the  official  organ  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Chicago,  of 
February  6,  1904,  page  17,  as  follows: 

Every  school  that  does  the  work  of  education  in  a  way 
to  satisfy  the  requirements  of  the  state  in  all  the  secular 
branches  of  instruction  is  entitled  to  state  support,  no  matter 
to  what  religious  denomination  the  school  managers  may  be- 
long. The  state  schools  which  teach  no  religion  and  are  there- 
fore fatally  defective  are  nevertheless  supported  out  of  the 
public  taxes  solely  for  their  work  of  secular  instruction.  In 
all  justice,  then,  to  religious  schools,  if  they  give  the 
same  amount  of  secular  instruction  as  the  others  are  entitled 
to  the  same  support  for  the  secular  instruction  they  give. 


& 


86  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

Why  not  ?  Can  any  man  except  the  unreasoning  bigot  see  why 
they  should  not  be  treated  alike  ?  If,  in  addition  to  the  secular 
instruction  required  by  the  state,  the  religious  schools  also 
teach  religion  because  the  parents  want  it,  the  state  can  have 
no  objection.  It  will  not  pay  for  the  religious  instruction, 
but  it  will  not  hinder  it,  because  it  has  no  right  to  do  so.  The 
parents  want  it  and  they  are  willing  to  pay  for  it.  What  can 
be  more  just  and  sensible  than  this  plan,  "  an  equal  wage  for 
equal  work"  ?  Let  the  Catholic  or  Anglican  or  Methodist 
school  do  the  same  work  in  secular  instruction  as  the  state 
school,  and  why  should  it  not  receive  the  same  pay  from  the 
state  for  work  which  fully  complies  with  the  requirements  of 
the  State  ?  Let  us  take  our  stand  on  this  platform,  "  The 
same  pay  for  the  same  work."  That  seems  to  offer  to  the 
people  of  the  United  States  the  fairest  solution  of  the  school 
question. 

In  this  connection  I  quote,  without  comment,  the  fol- 
lowing : 

The  Chicago  'American,  Dec.  20,  1903. 

The  supremacy  of  the  state  in  all  things  is  a  denial  of 
'  «God.  The  state  has  not  the  right  to  tax  all  the  people  for 
schools  which  all  the  people  do  not  patronize.  The  state  must 
provide  schools  for  the  minority  as  well  as  for  the  majority. 

Archbishop  James  Edward  Quigley  coupled  criticism  of 
the  public  school  'system  with  a  demand  for  state  support  of 
parochial  schools  in  an  address  before  the  Catholic  Woman's 
League  in  Corinthian  Hall,  the  Masonic  Temple,  yesterday. 
The  Catholic  Archbishop  of  Chicago  took  strong  ground 
against  the  secularization  of  education,  and  declared  that  the 
church  and  not  the  state  should  have  the  guidance  of  educa- 
tion. 

The  cry  everywhere  is  for  non-sectarian  education,  the 
archbishop  declared.  This  is  secular  education,  which  is  liber- 
alism. It  is  liberalism  that  is  the  fundamental  error  of  the 
age.  It  does  not  recognize  the  Church  of  God,  but  only  the 
individuality  of  man.  This  is  the  trouble  everywhere  between 
the  church  and  the  state. 

The  argument  advanced  is  this  in  effect:  The  State  is 
only  interested  in  the  secular  education  of  the  children  of  the 
Commonwealth;  it  can  be  of  no  concern  to  the  State  who  im- 


ORIGIN — HATRED    OF    PUBLIC    SCHOOL.  87 

parts  this  training,  or  in  what  place  it  is  done,  or  what 
religious  instruction  in  addition  may  be  given,  so  long  as 
the  secular  requirements  are  fully  met;  that,  hence,  it  is  im- 
material to  the  State  whether  the  required  secular  instruction 
be  imparted  to  the  children  in  a  public  or  in  a  parochial  school ; 
and  that  for  the  secular  training  given  in  a  parochial  school 
the  State  should  pay  as  willingly  as  for  that  given  in  the  pub- 
lic school ;  and  that  any  such  payment  by  the  State  to  a  paro- 
chial school  can  not  be  rightfully  considered  or  construed  as 
a  payment  of  public  money  for  a  religious  purpose. 

It  requires  no  elaborate  argument  to  show  that  such 
a  course  by  the  State  would  be  one  of  public  folly.  It  is  suf- 
ficient to  say  that  to  grant  compensation  for  secular  instruc- 
tion to  one  sect  would  open  the  door  for  the  granting  of  it  to 
all  sects.  It  would  inaugurate  an  indescribable  reign  of  graft. 
It  would  fill  the  land  with  jealousies,  strifes  and  intrigues. 
It  would  mean  the  denominationalizing  of  the  public  schools. 
It  would  finally  work  the  utter  destruction  of  the  magnificent 
public  school  system. 

To  open  the  public  treasury  to  the  presentation  and  pay- 
ment of  bills  by  religious  denominations  for  the  secular  edu- 
cation of*  their  children  would  mean  ultimately  its  looting  by 
Catholic  ecclesiastical  grafters. 

The  members  of  the  Catholic  Hierarchy  would,  if  they 
could,  support  their  Church  in  America  by  "  secular  educa- 
tion "  graft.  This  book  will  probably  disclose  some  other 
things  which  many  of  them  would  support  by  this  graft. 

ABUSE,  OF  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOL. 

This  is  a  fair  sample  of  the  moderate  Catholic  ecclesi- 
astical abuse  of  the  American  public  school.  It  is  by  a  con- 
tributor to  The  New  World  of  April  9,  1904,  page  13 : 

The  state  schools  are  the  curse  of  filial  piety  and  obedi- 
ence and  the  breeding  places  of  anarchism  and  rebellion. 
They  infect  the  mind  of  the  child  with  contempt  for  the  help- 
less parents,  who  have  nothing  to  say.  Character  and  manli- 


88  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

-  ness,  obedience,  reverence,  family  ties  are  weakened.  Do  we 
not  see  it  in  our  young  people  ?  They  are  the  most  irreverent, 
the  most  forward,  the  most  disobedient  on  the  face  of  the 
globe.  Then  what  a  conglomeration  of  girls  and  boys  are  gath- 
ered in  public  schools!  The  children  of  thieves,  murderers 
and  criminals  sit  side  by  side  with  the  children  of  the  honest 
and  upright;  the  Jew  with  the  Christian,  the  infidel  with  the 
devout.  The  morally  rotten  mingle  with  those  yet  sound. 

Is  it  not  true  then  that  public  schools  are  a  perverse,  il- 
legal and  dangerous  institution?  Oh,  what  cursed  negligence 
of  otherwise  sensible  parents  to  allow  such  a  commingling! 
They  would  not  mix  up  a  dozen  of  sound  apples  with  a  sin- 
gle tainted  one,  but  they  risk  their  innocent  offspring  with 
any  number  of  the  corrupt  scum  of  humanity  merely  because 
the  state  offers  to  relieve  them  of  the  education  of  the  children. 
Before  another  generation  grows  up,  our  public  schools  will 
be  sinks  of  corruption  from  which  streams  of  irreligious,  un- 
manly, lecherous,  impious  and  scoffing  humanity  will  issue 
forth  and  poison  our  country. 

Let  all  religious  persons  in  the  land  rise  up  in  might  and 
force  the  criminally  negligent  parents  to  take  charge  of  the 
education  of  their  children  in  schools  managed  by  each  denom- 
ination or  each  community.  Let  them  help  to  sweep  the  in- 
iquitous school  laws  from  the  land  and  make  the. state  mind 
the  business  for  which  God  and  we  as  citizens  have  set  it  up. 

I  imagine  that  a  few  of  my  readers  will  wonder,  before 
they  finish  reading  this  book,  how  much  more  stench ful  the 
parochial  school  sinks  of  corruption  would  be  if  there  were 
no  public  schools. 

I  do  not  think  that  it  harms  a  Christian  to  sit  by  a  Jew. 
I  think  a  man  should  be  judged  by  his  character  and  not  by 
his  creed,  his  color  or  his  family. 

I  can  designate  parochial  schools  in  Chicago  from  which 
have  come  criminals  of  international  reputation.  Chicago  has 
witnessed  the  hanging  of  more  than  one  murderer  who  was 
in  youth  a  parochial  school  boy.  These  things  are  equally 
true  of  other  dioceses  and  archdioceses  in  America. 


ORIGIN — HATRED    OF    PUBLIC    SCHOOL.  89 

CHARGED  WITH  BEING  GODLESS. 

It  was  formerly  the  general  custom  to  open  the  public 
schools  with  the  reading  of  some  Scriptural  selection  and  the 
saying  of  the  Lord's  prayer.  This  course  was  followed  to 
teach  the  children  about  God  and  man's  accountability  to  Him. 
It  probably  was  pursued  with  the  idea  of  supplementing  the 
religious  instruction  of  the  home,  the  church,  and  the  Sunday 
school.  Catholic  ecclesiastics  saw  a  point  of  attack  upon  the 
public  school  in  these  religious  exercises.  So  the  country 
was  startled  by  Catholic  protests  against  teaching  religion  in 
the  public  schools.  Some  non-Catholics  rallied1  to  the  support 
of  the  protesting  Catholic. ecclesiastics ;  and  out  of  the  agitation 
came  the  virtual  abandonment  of  religious  exercises  in  the 
public  schools. 

Having  eliminated  God  from  the  public  schools  Catholic 
ecclesiastics  then  charged  the  public  schools  with  being  god- 
less and  unfit  for  the  education  of  the  Catholic  youth.  The 
next  movement  was  to  erect  parochial  schools.  The  depleted 
pocket-books  of  the  Catholic  people  are  mute  witnesses  to  the 
.success  of  this  last  named  ecclesiastical  activity. 

The  Hierarchy  hopes  that  its  constant  reiteration  of  the 
charge  of  "  godlessness  "  against  the  American  public  school 
will  lead  many  pious  non-Catholic  parents  to  believe  that  the 
public  schools  are  "  vicious,"  and  thereby  hasten  the  destruction 
of  the  public  school  system. 

Catholic  priests  and  prelates  should  not  call  the  public 
schools  godless,  for  the  majority  of  the  teachers  in  many  of 
them  are  Catholics.  They  should  not  call  them  godless,  for 
they  were  principally  responsible  for  the  elimination  of  re- 
ligious instruction  from  them.  They  should  not  call  them 
godless,  for  the  leaders  in  American  history  were  produced 
by  them.  They  should  not  call  them  godless,  for  many  promi- 
nent American  Catholics,  clerical  and  lay,  were  educated  in 
them.  They  should  not  call  them  godless,  for  the  eloquent  and 
fearless  Bishop  Spalding,  of  Peoria,  whose  name  is  a  household 


go  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

word  at  home  and  abroad,  has  said  that  they  are  "  not  irre- 
ligious, not  anti-religious,  not  godless."  (See  Chapter  XII 
of  this  book  for  full  quotation.) 

CHARGED  WITH  CAUSING  FRIVOLITY  AND  DEPRAVITY. 

It  is  charged  by  the  ecclesiastical  enemies  of  the  public 
school  that  the  frivolity  and  depravity  of  the  present  day  in 
America  are  almost  entirely  due  to  the  "  godless  public  school." 
In  this  connection  I  quote  from  an  article  by  Rev.  Charles 
Coppens,  a  Jesuit  priest,  published  in  The  New  World,  the  of- 
ficial organ  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Chicago,  Illinois,  June  25, 
1904,  page  6,  entitled,  "  The  White  Slaves  of  America  " : 

It  will  scarcely  be  questioned  that  the  number  of  de- 
praved young  men  is  greater  than  that  of  depraved  young 
women.  But  the  question  which  it  concerns  the  whole  country 
to  study  is:  What  has  filled  the  land  with  such  multitudes  of 
young  people  who  live  for  pleasure  without  any  serious  thought 
of  solemn  duty;  whose  ideal  in  life  is  independence,  personal 
enjoyment  and  general  egotism?  What  education  have  those 
boys  and  girls  received?  They  know  how  to  read,  write  and 
cipher  to  some  extent;  they  have  a  smattering  of  all  that  is 
taught  in  the  common  schools,  and  many  have  gone  through 
high  school  or  college.  The  vast  majority  of  them  are  the 
ripe  and  legitimate  fruit  of  the  public  school  system ;  they  are 
the  logical  outcome  of  the  principles  practically  inculcated  by 
it,  namely,  of  eagerness  to  have  money,  love  of  amusement  and 
show,  independence,  liberty  of  thought,  neglect  of  religious 
observances. 

The  frivolous  and  depraved  members  of  the  present  gen- 
eration are  not  the  legitimate  fruit  of  the  public  school  system. 
The  love  of  money,  which  according  to  the  Scriptures  is  "  the. 
root  of  all  evil,"  does  not  have  its  origin  and  development  in 
the  public  school.  It  has  its  genesis  in  the  abundant  wealth 
of  the  times  and  it  is  developed  by  a  knowledge  of  the  manifold 
objects  which  minister  to  comfort,  culture  and  pleasure  that 
money  will  procure.  The  progress  of  the  world  has  made 
money  a  key  which  will  open  more  doors  in  our  day  than  it 


•  ORIGIN — HATRED    OF    PUBLIC    SCHOOL.  QI 

did  in  the  times  of  our  forefathers.  The  wealth  of  America 
has  made  America.  Mr.  Motley,  in  his  Rise  of  the  Dutch  Re- 
public, says  that  "  wealth,  its  vivifier  became  its  destroyer. J> 
Wealth,  the  vivifier  of  America,  may  become  the  destroyer  of 
America.  The  danger  lurks  in  the  inordinate  desire  to  ac- 
cumulate it,  in  the  unholy  ways  adopted  to  get  it,  and  in  the 
misuse  or  abuse  of  it.  From  one  end  of  the  land  to  the  other 
there  is  a  mania  for  money  getting.  American  children  do 
not  become  tainted  with  this  mania  for  wealth  by  the  instruction 
which  is  imparted  to  them  in  the  public  school,  but  by  what 
they  see,  by  what  they  hear,  and  by  what  they  read.  They  are 
most  largely  influenced  by  the  examples  given  them  by  the 
holders  of  wealth.  So  far  as  the  public  school  is  concerned  it 
is  on  the  side  of  morality  and  religion  because  its  chief  ideals 
are  the  distinguished  Americans  who  rose  under  their  aegis 
from  lowliness  to  the  highest  position  »in  their  country.  Wash- 
ington, the  surveyor;  Lincoln,  the  rail-splitter;  Grant,  the 
tanner ;  Garfield,  the  canal-boat  boy ;  and  McKinley,  the  clerk, 
are  types  of  the  concrete  teaching  imparted  to  children  in  the 
public  schools.  The  public  school  does  not  deify  the  dollar — 
it  deifies  character. 

Now,  what  advantage  has  the  parochial  school  over  the 
public  school  in  warning  the  children  against  the  wrongful  as- 
pects of  money  desiring,  money  getting  and  money  using? 
The  parochial  school  can  teach  that  God  looks  with  disfavor, 
upon  any  inordinate  desire  to  acquire  wealth ;  that  He  abomi- 
nates unholy  methods  to  gain  it ;  and  that  He  will  hold  its  pos- 
sessor to  a  strict  accountability  for  the  use  he  makes  of  it.  The 
public  school  cannot  teach  its  pupils  these  religious'  truths. 
Does  the  parochial  school  in  consequence  have  an  advantage 
over  the  public  school  in  respect  to  this  line  of  instruction? 
Theoretically  yes,  but  practically  no,  because  the  parochial 
school  officers  in  America  exhibit  the  most  inordinate  desire 
for  wealth,  adopt  the  most  unholy  methods  to  gain  it,  and  make 
the  most  selfish  use  of  it.  I«leave  it  to  the  good  sense  of  'think- 


92  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

ing  Americans  to  decide  whether  the  hypocrisy  of  the  parochial 
school  in  this  regard  is  not  infinitely  more  harmful  to  children 
than  the  silence  of  the  public  school. 

The  ecclesiastical  enemies  of  the  public  school  seem  to 
take  it  for  granted  that  frivolity  and  depravity  are  character- 
istics of  the  product  of  the  American  public  school  alone. 
That  some  of  the  graduates  of  the  public  schools  should  have 
these  characteristics  is  not  astounding.  But  what  about  the 
frivolity  and  depravity  which  characterize  the  product  of  the 
parochial  school?  From  the  statistics  in  my  possession  I  as- 
sert that  proportionately  there  is  a  very  much  smaller  depraved 
and  frivolous  product  from  the  public  school  than  there  is 
from  the  parochial  school.  I  make  this  declaration  with  no 
desire  to  hurt  the  feelings  of  the  Catholic  people  who  have  re- 
ceived a  parochial  school  education,  many  of  whom  are  true- 
hearted  men  and  women.  I  marvel  that  so  many  of  the  pa- 
rochial school  pupils  succeed  in  rising  above  their  alma  mater 
and  in  developing  fine  characters  in  spite  of  the  awful  incubus 
of  hypocrisy,  incompetency  and  inadequacy  under  which  they 
labored  in  the  parochial  school. 

CHARGED  WITH  BREEDING  SOCIALISM. 

One  of  the  attempts  to  discredit  the  public  school  is  found 
in  the  charge  by  Catholic  ecclesiastics  that  it  is  allied  with 
socialism.  The  New  World  (the  official  organ  of  the  Arch- 
diocese of  Chicago)  in  its  issue  of  June  25,  1904,  page  8,  has 
an  article  on  this  subject  by  "  a  distinguished  writer,"  and 
from  it  I  quote  as  follows: 

Socialism  is  sloth  and  laziness  concocted  into  a  gigantic 
system  and  involves  the  end  of  all  decency  and  progress  in  the 
human  race.  Well,  then,  what  are  our  public  schools  but  a 
part  of  this  system  ? 

I  leave  it  to  socialistic  writers  to  combat  the  above  defini- 
tion of  socialism.  The  reading  I  have  done  along  this  line, 
however,  has  not  led  me  to  any  such  conclusion.  Whatever 
socialism  may  be,  abstractly  or  concretely,  one  thing  I  know 


ORIGIN — HATRED    OF    PUBLIC    SCHOOL.  93 

and  that  is  that  the  American  public  school  is  not  a  part  of 
a  gigantic  system  of  concocted  sloth  and  laziness.  My  ob- 
servation in  America  teaches  me  that  socialists  here,  whatever 
they  may  be  in  other  countries,  are  industrious,  hard  working, 
plain  people,  who  love  their  homes  and  country  and  desire  at 
heart,  however  mistaken  they  may  be  in  theory,  the  welfare 
of  all  men. 

This  socialistic  charge  is  directed  to  the  Catholic  people 
rather  than  to  the  non-Catholics,  for  the  Catholic  clergy  are 
bitter  enemies  of  socialism,  and  they  constantly  preach  against 
it  from  their  pulpits.  If  the  Catholic  people  can  be  made  to 
believe  that  the  public  schools  are  hot-beds  of  socialism,  then 
to  that  extent  will  the  public  schools  be  discredited  in  the  eyes 
of  the  Catholic  people  as  proper  institutions  to  which  to  send 
Catholic  youth. 

CHARGED  WITH  CAUSING  LYNCHINGS. 

From  an  editorial  entitled,  "  Reaping  the  Whirlwind,"  in 
The  Catholic  Telegraph,  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  U.  S.  A.,  of  Au-^ 
gust  1 8,  1904,  page  4,  I  quote  the  following: 

Various  reasons  have  been  assigned  for  these  frequent 
eruptions  of  the  anarchistic  spirit,  but,  in  our  opinion,  the  lynch- 
ing spirit  is  due  to  the  irreligion,  the  exaggerated  idea  of  per- 
sonal freedom  and  the  repugnance  to  authority  imbibed  by  the 
pupils  in  the  godless  schools  of  the  country.  "  All  authority 
comes  from  God,"  and  "  Morality  can  not  be  taught  without  re- 
ligion," are  principles  which  should  dominate  every  system  of 
education  which  may  hope  to  produce  law-abiding  citizens, 
and  until  they  do  dominate  our  primary  school  education,  we 
must  not  expect  to  be  free  from  increasing  outbursts  of  the 
lynching  spirit. 

Parochial  school  graduates  never  participate  in  lynchings ! 
Only  graduates  of  the  public  school  are  guilty  of  that  deviltry ! 

The  time  is  surely  near  at  hand  for  the  Jesuits  and  other 
Catholic  enemies  of  the  public  school  to  charge  it  with  bring- 
ing about  the  rebellion  of  Lucifer,  the  fall  of  Adam,  the  uni- 


94  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

versal  deluge  and  the  diabolical  immorality  of  Pope  Alexander 
VI. 

SCHEME  TO  DETERIORATE  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  BY  THE  DE- 
STRUCTION AND  PREVENTION  OF  NORMAL  SCHOOLS. 

I  now  advert  to  that  part  of  the  ecclesiastical  plan  to  wreck 
the  public  schools  which  has  to  do  with  preventing  the  train- 
ing of  teachers  for  the  public  schools.  Teachers  are  now 
trained  by  normal  schools.  A  specific  clerical  attack  is  being 
made  upon  the  normal  schools.  It  requires  no  extraordinary 
degree  of  intelligence  to  forecast  the  fate  which  awaits  the 
public  schools  if  they  cannot  secure  an  abundant  supply  of 
thoroughly  trained  teachers.  If  the  normal  schools  are  abol- 
ished, the  public  schools  very  likely  will  be  forced  to  employ 
untrained  teachers,  and  the  inevitable  result  would  be  the  de- 
struction of  the  efficiency  of  the  public  schools. 

But  Catholic  ecclesiastical  enemies  of  the  public  schools 
hope  not  only  to  injure  the  public  schools  by  depriving  them 
of  the  trained  teachers  which  they  now  get  by  the  normal 
courses,  but  to  crowd  the  teaching  staff  of  the  public  schools 
full  of  the  incompetent  graduates  of  the  parochial  schools. 
With  the  normal  schools  out  of  the  way,  these  ecclesiastics  be- 
lieve that  they  can  so  manipulate  matters  that  the  parochial 
school  graduates  will  easily  become  public  school  teachers — in 
fact,  have  the  preference  over  other  graduates  and  candidates 
for  teaching  positions.  The  success  of  this  scheme  would,  of 
course,  mean  great  graft  for  the  ecclesiastics  and  awful  de- 
terioration for  the  public  school. 

A  Catholic  ecclesiastical  attack  is  now  being  made  upon 
the  normal  school  in  Chicago.  A  bill  has  been  filed  in  the 
names  of  several  Catholics  to  restrain  the  Chicago  Board  of 
Education  from  completing  the  normal  school,  alleging  some 
class  distinction  as  the  ground  of  complaint.  Preceding  the 
riling  of  this  bill  the  Archbishop  of  Chicago  had  much  to  say 
against  the  normal  school,  and  I  think  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  His  Grace  is  directly  or  indirectly  responsible  for  the  legal 


ORIGIN — HATRED    OF    PUBLIC    SCHOOL.  95 

action.  The  Union  League  Club,  composed  of  leading  Chicago 
citizens,  is  championing  the  normal  school.  Apropos  of  the 
situation  I  quote  the  following  about  a  speech  delivered  by 
Archbishop  Quigley,  December  19,  1903,  at  Masonic  Temple, 
Chicago : 

Chicago  American,  Dec.  20,  1903. 

Declaring  that  Catholics  simply  desired  their  constitution- 
al right  to  educate  their  children  as  they  saw  fit,  Archbishop 
Quigley  attacked  the  erection  of  the  new  Chicago  Normal 
School  and  the  principles  on  which  it  was  founded.  He  ex- 
plained that  the  State  could  support  Catholic  parochial  schools 
without  violating  any  constitutional  provision  or  statute, 

I  quote  the  following  editorial  on  the  action  of  the  Union 
League  Club: 

The  Chicago  Daily  Journal,  June  25,  1904. 
IN  DEFENSE  OF  THE  NORMAL  SCHOOL. 

The  Union  League  club  has  tendered  its  assistance  to  the 
board  of  education  in  defense  o"f  the  Chicago  Normal  school. 

The  latter  body  is  to  be  commended  for  having  accepted 
the  offer.  The  issue  is  one  vitally  affecting  the  welfare  of  the 
Chicago  public  schools. 

A  suit  has  been  instituted,  in  the  name  of  three  taxpayers, 
seeking  to  restrain  the  board  of  education  from  making  further 
appropriations  for  the  maintenance  of  this  institution. 

The  intention  clearly  is  to  kill  the  school.  Its  destruction 
is  calculated  to  paralyze  the  efficiency  of  the  teaching  force. 
It  means  nothing  less,  and  the  public  should  be  aroused  to  the 
true  situation. 

The  normal  institution  is  the  nursery  and  training  school 
for  Chicago  teachers.  To  destroy  it  is  to  undermine  the  whole 
free  school  system. 

It  has  been  shown  by  school  statistics  that  the  supply  of 
teachers  from  outside  schools  is  not  only  inadequate,  but  de- 
ficient in  preparation. 

It  also  has  been  shown  that  careful,  intelligent,  expert 
training  is  necessary  for  the  profession  of  teaching.  How 
necessary,  then,  that  the  normal  school  should  be  as  carefully 
provided  for  as  are  the  public  schools  themselves! 


96  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

An  attack  upon  the  normal  school  from  any  source  should 
be  resisted.  The  whole  people  of  Chicago  should  applaud  the 
Union  League  club  for  coming  to  the  defense  of  this  important 
educational  institution. 

Friends  of  the  American  public  school  in  other  localities 
should  be  on  the  alert  to  resist  any  Catholic  ecclesiastical  at- 
tacks upon  normal  schools. 

ATTACKS  ON  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  VEILED  AND  OPEN. 

The  attack  of  the  Catholic  Hierarchy  upon  the  American 
public  school  is  both  veiled  and  open,  depending  upon  the  judg- 
ment of  individual  priests  and  prelates,  that  judgment  being 
shaped  by  local  conditions  and  personal  considerations. 

Sometimes  ecclesiastical  disavowals  of  antagonism  to  the 
public  schools  are  made,  and  the  public  informed  that  the 
Church  does  not  seek  to  destroy  them.  As  an  illustration  of 
such  disavowals  I  quote  the  following  from  the  Cathedral 
Calendar,  published  by  the  Holy  Name  Cathedral,  Chicago, 
September,  1902,  p.  3 : 

Upon  the  opening  of  our  parish  schools  education  be- 
comes the  topic  of  the  hour.  Catholics  have  little  room  for 
perplexity  in  the  matter,  as  the  Church  has  pointed  out  the 
school  in  which  their  children  shall  be  trained.  In  so  doing 
the  Catholic  church  makes  no  war  with  the  American  system 
of  public  schools.  That  institution  is  a  credit  to  a  people  striv- 
ing for  knowledge.  But  life  is  more  than  knowledge,  and 
character  is  more  than  instruction. 

All  such  disavowals  of  Catholic  ecclesiastical  antagonism 
to  the  American  public  school  are  rank  hypocrisies.  At  the 
very  time  the  foregoing  quoted  matter  was  penned  for  the  pub- 
lic, Catholic  people  were  told  that  the  American  public  schools 
are  but  traps  of  the  devil  and  sinks  of  corruption. 

Some  Catholic  ecclesiastics  pretend  to  want  "  higher  pub- 
lic schools,  not  the  destruction  of  the  school  system,"  and  sol- 
emnly declare  that  this  is  the  Catholic  aim ;  but  when  their  argu- 
ments are  carefully  analyzed  and  weighed  it  is  seen  that  the 


ORIGIN HATRED    OF    PUBLIC    SCHOOL.  97 

word  "  higher "  is  used  metaphorically  or  dynamically,  and 
that  their  object  is  to  blow  the  public  schools  out  of  existence. 

If  Americans  will  observe  closely  they  will  see  that  emi- 
nent Catholic  ecclesiastics  are  hypocritically  posing  as  the 
champions  of  the  best  interests  of  the  public  school. 

In  April,  1903,  the  Archbishop  of  Chicago  was  heralded 
over  the  land  as  fiercely  assailing  a  certain  educational  bill  then 
pending  before  the  legislature  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  alleging 
it  to  be  "  a  blow  at  free  education,  and  in  effect  an  effort  to 
place  the  public  schools  under  the  direction  of  the  president 
of  the  Chicago  University,  who  would  be  a  dictator."  When 
I  reflected  upon  the  Catholic  ecclesiastical  plan  of  attack  upon 
the  public  schools,  the  wickedness  of  grafting  parochial  school 
officers,  and  the  demand  of  His  Grace  that  the  State  shall  aid 
parochial  schools,  I  wondered  how  long  it  will  take  the  Amer- 
ican people  to  wake  up. 

A  SIMULATED  LIBERALITY. 

The  Catholic  ecclesiastical  opponents  of  the  public  schools 
assume  an  air  of  liberality  and  make  references  to  the  belief 
of  the  majority  of  Americans  in  one  God,  Creator  of  all,  and 
they  declare  that  all  civil  laws  which  interfere  in  things  super- 
natural or  religious  are  invalid  and  unjust.  But  it  should 
be  borne  in  mind  that  these  expressions  have  only  an  apparent 
and  not  a  real  liberality.  When  Catholic  ecclesiastics  thus 
talk  about  the  belief  of  the  majority  in  "  one  God  "  it  is  simply 
to  ingratiate  themselves  in  the  favor  of  pious  non-Catholics; 
and  when  they  protest  against  civil  laws  which  interfere  in 
things  supernatural  or  religious,  they  have  in  mind  solely  their 
own  Church.  The  non-Catholic,  who  entertains  for  a  moment 
the  thought  that  they  speak  in  a  fraternal  sense,  is  not  wise. 
I  say  it  with  sadness  that  I  am  absolutely  certain  that  these 
men,  if  they  possessed  the  power,  would  not  only  destroy  the 
public  schools,  but  would  trample  upon  the  religious  rights  of 
every  sect  in  America.  Their  references  and  appeals  to  "  God," 
"  the  Church,"  and  "  human  rights  "  must  be  interpreted  first, 


98  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

last  and  all  the  time  by  the  darkness  of  bigotry  and  selfishness 
and  not  by  the  light  of  liberality  and  charity. 

ON  THE  EVE  OF  AN  AGGRESSIVE  CLERICALISM. 

We  are  now  on  the  eve  of  a  most  aggressive  Catholic  cler- 
ical movement.  In  a  prominent  article  entitled,  "  Our  Duty 
as  Citizens,"  in  The  New  World,  the  official  organ  of  the 
Archdiocese  of  Chicago,  (issue  of  April  16,  1904,  p.  10),  oc- 
cur these  words : 

Catholics  as  a  body  have  offered  a  passive  resistance  to 
the  school  laws  all  over  the  country  The  better  and  most  re- 
ligious portion  of  them  have  desired  a  radical  change  in  these 
lazvs,  and  they  are  getting  ready  to  make  the  most  strenuous 
efforts  to  effect  such  a  change. 

I  have  no  misgiving  about  the  outcome.  Catholic  eccle- 
siastics cannot  destroy  the  American  public  school;  they  can 
not  disintegrate  it ;  they  cannot  divert  its  funds — they  can  make 
the  effort  and  achieve  a  certain  amount  of  apparent  success, 
but  the  result  of  their  effort  will  be  the  arraying  of  the  seventy 
millions  of  non-Catholic  American  citizens  against  the  less 
than  twelve  millions  of  Catholics  in  America  and  the  end  of 
the  struggle  will  witness  not  merely  the  protection  of  the 
American  public  school  but  the  annihilation  of  the  Catholic 
parochial  school. 

Recent  French  history,  telling  of  the  suppression  of  the 
teaching  orders,  should  be  emphasis  enough  on  what  is  pos- 
sible and  probable  in  America. 

The  American  people  are  slow  to  wrath,,  but  when  their 
wrath  is  once  kindled  it  burns  like  a  consuming  fire. — Mes- 
sages and  Papers  of  the  Presidents,  Vol.  X.,  p.  420. 

The  parochial  school  is  a  gold  mine  for  Catholic  ecclesias- 
tical grafters.  It  is  a  curse  to  the  Church.  It  is  a  menace  to 
the  Nation. 


CHAPTER   III. 


THE    BOARD    OF    EDUCATION    OF    THE    PAROCHIAL 
SCHOOL  SYSTEM. 


THE  public  school  system  in  America  has  Boards  of  Educa- 
tion. The  public  schools  of  the  City  of  Chicago,  111.,  for  exam- 
ple, are  controlled  by  a  Board  of  Education.  The  public  school 
superintendents,  principals,  assistant  principals  and  teachers 
are  subject  to  it.  It  is  the  supreme  head  of  the  public  school 
system  in  Chicago.  It  regulates  the  salaries  of  the  public 
school  officers  and  teachers;  it  contracts  for  the  securing  of 
new  building  sites,  and  it  lets  the  contracts  for  the  erection  of 
new  school  buildings.  It  designates  the  studies  which  the  pub- 
lic school  children  shall  pursue.  Other  cities  and  localities  in 
America  have  similar  boards,  vested  with  like  powers..  The 
Nation  has  no  supreme  Board  of  Education  to  which  are  ame- 
nable all  the  Boards  of  Education  in  the  respective  States. 

The  parochial  school  system  has  no  Boards  of  Education 
in  America  such  as  I  have  described  as  being  in  control  of  the 
public  schools.  It  has,  however,  in  effect,  a  Board  of  Educa- 
tion, although  it  does  not  designate  it  by  this  name,  to  which 
the  parochial  schools  are  subject.  The  Board  of  Education  of 
the  Catholic  Parochial  School  System  is  none  other  than  the 
Vatican,  meaning  thereby  the  Pope  and  the  Propaganda,  and 
their  ecclesiastical  advisers.  These  high  Church  dignitaries, 
comprising  the  Pontiff,  Cardinals,  and  others,  constitute  what 
may  with  propriety  be  called,  in  view  of  their  relation  to  the 
parochial  school,  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  Catholic  Pa- 
rochial School  System. 


100  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  a  division  of  the  public  school 
money  in  America  is  demanded  by  the  Catholic  hierarchy,  and 
in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  Catholic  hierarchy  is  ceaseless  in  its 
villification  of  the  American  public  school,  and  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  the  Catholic  hierarchy  is  determined  to  annihilate  the 
American  public  school  system,  and  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
these  ecclesiastical  attitudes  have  never  been  rebuked  by  the 
Vatican  but  on  the  contrary  indirectly  if  not  directly  approved, 
I  deem  it  very  important  to  this  discussion  to  present  certain 
information  about  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  Parochial 
School  System  that  the  American  people  may  have  at  hand 
reliable  data  to  help  them  in  deciding  whether  they  should  favor 
or  oppose  the  attitudes  of  the  Catholic  hierarchy  towards  the 
American  public  school.  Some  of  these  data  consist  of  Church 
history  which  I  trust  will  so  enlighten  the  Catholic  people  that 
they  may  be  led  to  form  rational  views  as  to  the  peccability 
of  priests,  prelates,  Cardinals  and  Pontiffs. 

VATICAN  HISTORY. 

I 
The  Board  of  Education  of  the  Catholic  Parochial  School 

System  has  a  long  history  and  much  of  it  is  shocking.     Its 
unsavory  features  are  not  familiar  to  the  plain  Catholic  people. 

I  shall  quote  almost  entirely  from  the  works  of  Dr.  John 
Alzog  and  Dr.  Ludwig  Pastor,  the  renowned  historians  of  the 
Catholic  Church. 

Dr.  Alzog  is  the  author  of  the  Manual  of  Universal 
Church  History,  and  the  American  translation  bears  the  fol- 
lowing imprimatur: 

Cincinnati,  August  15,  1874. 

With  no  ordinary  satisfaction,  we  attach  our  Imprimatur 
to  this  most  necessary  Manual  of  Ecclesiastical  History  of  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Alzog.  The  work,  as  it  comes  from  the  hands  of 
the  Rev.  President  and  a  Rev.  Professor  of  our  Seminary,  may 
be  considered  an  improvement  on  the  original.  It  is  better 
adapted  to  our  needs,  and  from  the  favor  with  which  the  pros- 
pectus has  been  received  by  our  Most  Reverend  Prelates  and 
Right  Reverend  Prelates  and  Professors  of  Theology,  we  have 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  IOI 

no  doubt  of  its  being  regarded  as  a  valuable  acquisition  to  ec- 
clesiastical science. 

f  J.  B.  Purcell,  Archbishop  of  Cincinnati. 

Dr.  Pastor's  work  is  widely  known,  and  as  it  is  drawn 
from  the  secret  archives  of  the  Vatican  it  is  regarded  as  par- 
ticularly valuable.  I  quote  from  The  New  World  of  Nov.  7, 
I903>  Page  13: 

Dr.  Pastor,  author  of  the  "  Lives  of  the  Popes,"  had  a  long 
audience  with  the  Holy  Father  on  Saturday,  and  presented -to 
His  Holiness  a  copy  of  the  fourth  edition  of  the  first  volume 
of  the  work.  The  Pope  expressed  his  hearty  appreciation  of 
the  action  of  Leo  XIII  in  throwing  open  the  Vatican  archives, 
and  said :  "  Xon  e  da  temere  la  verita  " — the  truth  is  not  to  be 
feared.  He  gave  Dr.  Pastor  permission  to  dedicate  to  him 
the  fourth  edition  of  the  second  volume  of  the  "  History  of  the 
Popes,"  and  said  he  would  regard  the  dedication  as  a  high  hon- 
or for  himself. 

Dr.  Alzog  and  Dr.  Pastor  devote  hundreds  of  pages  to 
the  dark  side  of  the  Vatican  history.  They  say  that  sin  has 
infected  all  ranks  of  the  clergy  at  various  times  during  the  ex- 
istence of  the  Church;  that  certain  Popes,  while  occupying 
the  Pontifical  throne,  were  guilty  of  immorality — some  of  them 
officiated  at  the  weddings  of  their  own  children  and  performed 
the  ceremonies  in  the  Vatican ;  that  many  Cardinals  were  lewd 
in  life;  that  the  lower  clergy  were  corrupt;  that  grafting 
abounded;  that  the  ruling  classes,  demoralized  by  clerical  ras- 
cality, plunged  into  excesses;  that  the  faith  was  preserved  by 
the  honest,  abused,  deceived,  patient,  plain  Catholic  people; 
that  when  the  priesthood  had  the  most  of  wealth  and  power 
its  sins  were  greatest;  and  that  money  has  been  wrung  from 
the  people  to  feed  the  extravagance  of  priests,  prelates,  Cardi- 
nals and  Pontiffs. 

I  quote  a  few  of  the  statements  of  Dr.  Alzog  and  Dr. 
Pastor. 

GENERAL    IMMORALITY. 

Under  this  heading  will  be  found  a  few  quotations  which 
are  general  in  their  nature. 


102  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

UNCHASTITY  AND  SIMONY. 

There  were  eighty  councils  held  in  France  during  the 
eleventh  century,  and  of  these  there  was  not  a  single  one  in 
which  a  protest  of  the  fathers  was  not  directed  against  the 
lawlessness  and  brigandage  of  the  laity  and  the  unchastity  and 
simony  of  the  clergy. — Dr.  Alzogs  Manual  of  Universal 
Church  History,  Vol.  II. ,  p.  368. 

PAPAL  AND  CLERICAL  IMMORALITY. 

Cupidity,  manifesting  itself  in  the  prevalence  of  simony 
and  the  accumulation  of  benefices,  selfishness,  pride  and  os- 
tentatious luxury  were  but  too  common  among  ecclesiastics. 
The  extent  of  the  corruption  is  seen  in  the  complaints  of  con- 
temporary writers,  and  proved  by  well  authenticated  facts. 
Unhappily,  the  infection  spread  even  to  the  Holy  See.  The 
corruption  begins  with  Paul  II.,  it  increases  under  Sixtus  IV. 
and  Innocent  VIII. ,  and  comes  to  a  head  in  the  desecration 
of  the  chair  of  St.  Peter,  by  the  immoral  life  of  Alexander  VI. 
The  depravity  of  these  times  struck  even  such  outside  observers 
as  the  knight  Arnold  von  Harff,  with  horror. — Dr.  Pastor's 
History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  V.}  pp.  169,  170. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  .  .  .  among  the  clergy 
(during  the  Renaissance)  there  was  a  great  deal  of  immorality. 
— Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  V.,  p.  10. 

Dr.  Pastor  refers  to  the  mandate  of  the  Duke  of  Milan 
to  the  Podesta  of  Pavia,  dated  Sept.  27,  1470,  containing  com- 
plaints of  the  priests  who  went  about  at  night  in  secular  attire. 
Also,  much  scandal  was  given  by  the  clergy  in  Sicily.  Also  to 
Ordinance  of  the  Viceroy,  dated  Palermo,  Oct.  26,  1500,  on 
priests  who  kept  concubines.  All  in  Vol.  V.,  p.  172,  footnotes, 
• — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes. 

PROSTITUTION,  SODOMY  AND  MURDERS  IN  CHURCHES. 

Already,  in  the  I4th  century,  in  the  towns  in  Italy,  the 
number  of  unfortunate  women  leading  a  life  of  shame  had  been 
very  great.  .  .  .  On  the  side  of  the  Church  great  efforts 
were  made  to  stem  the  tide  of  evil.  .  .  Special  missions 
were  sometimes  given  for  the  conversion  of  these  women. 
.  .  Some  were  converted.  .  .  .  But  in  the  main  things 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  IO3 

remained  much  as  they  were  in  Rome,  which  was  not  sur- 
prising, considering  the  bad  example  set  by  so  many  of  the 
clergy. — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  V.,  pp.  128, 
130,  131- 

But  this  (-prostitution)  was  not  the  worst  of  the  maladies 
which  the  false  renaissance  had  brought  upon  Italy.  .  .  . 
There  is  unmistakable  evidence  of  the  revival  of  the  horrible 
national  vice  of  the  Greeks.  ...  It  made  its  way  into  the 
lower  ranks  also. — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  V ., 
pp.  131,  133. 

The  frequency  of  murders  in  churches  is  another  mark 
of  the  blunting  of  the  moral  sense. — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of 
the  Popes,  Vol.  V.,  p.  134. 

GROSS  LIBERTIES  BY  ARTISTS. 

The  abuse  of  painting  friends  and  acquaintances  of  the 
artist  as  saints,  grew  apace  during  the  latter  half  of  the  I5th 
century.  Donatello,  in  choosing  a  man  like  Poggio  for  a  mod- 
el of  a  prophet,  was  defying  all  sense  of  propriety.  The  same 
was  in  a  sense  true  of  Benozzo  Gozzoli's  frescoes  in  the  Campo 
Santo  at  Pisa,  and  in  S.  Gimignano,  and  of  those  painted  by 
Ghirlandjo  in  Sta.  Maria  Novella  in  Florence.  Many  as  are 
the  beauties  of  Ghirlandjo's  frescoes  in  the  choir  of  Sta.  Maria 
Novella,  we  cannot  but  regard  the  introduction  of  twenty-one 
portraits  of  members  of  the  donors'  families  as  a  profanation 
of  sacred  history.  The  dissolute  Carmelite,  Fra  Pilippo  Lippi, 
did  even  worse,  for  his  Madonnas  reproduce  again  and  again 
the  features  of  Lucrezia  Buti,  his  mistress. — Dr.  Pastor's 
History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  V.,  pp.  196,  197. 

Many  of  my  readers  may  not  catch  the  full  significance 
of  these  words.  It  is  simply  this :  Artists  who  were  en- 
gaged to  paint  sacred  pictures,  painted  the  likenesses  of  their 
mistresses  to  represent  the  holy  women,  and  Lippi  even  chose 
his  mistress  to  represent  the  Mother  of  God. 

IMMORAL  MONKS  AND  NUNS. 

The  ecclesiastical  troubles  of  preceding  years  had  paved 
the  way  for  grievous  abuses  in.  the  Tyrol,  as  well  as  in  most 
parts  of  Germany,  and  fearful  immorality  prevailed  amongst 
clergy  and  laity.  .  .  Cardinal  Cusa  rose  to  the  occasion.  He 


104  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

was  resolved  at  any  cost  to  carry  out  the  reform  in  his  Dio- 
cese; his  special  attention  was  directed  to  the  Religious  Or- 
ders, the  scandal  of  whose  moral  corruption  was  aggravated 
by  their  profession  of  a  life  of  poverty  and  self-abnegation. 
The  extent  of  the  evil  may  be  estimated  by  the  violent  op- 
position which  the  regulations  of  the  new  Bishop  encountered. 
The  Poor  Clares  of  Brixen  in  particular  were  distinguished  by 
the  obstinacy  of  their  resistance,  and  even  the  intervention 
of  the  Holy  See  was  ineffectual.  The  nuns  treated  the  Papal 
Brief  with  as  little  respect  as  the  Interdict  and  Excommuni- 
cation pronounced  by  the  Cardinal. — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of 
the  Popes,  Vol.  HI.,  pp.  178,  i/p. 

Cardinal  Cusa's  most  serious  contest  was  with  the  nuns 
of  the  Bendictine  Convent  of  Sonnenburg,  in  the  Pusterthal, 
where  a  secular  spirit  had  made  terrible  inroads.  .  .  They 
turned  to  Duke  Sigismund  for  protection.  This  dissolute 
prince  was  a  strange  champion  for  a  convent  of  nuns,  but  he 
was  equal  to  the  occasion. 

A  foot  note  here  says :  In  1490  the  deputies  of  the  States 
represented  to  Sigismund  that  "  the  gracious  Lord  had  cer- 
tainly more  than  forty  sons  and  daughters  who  were  illegit- 
imate." .  .  — Archiv  fur  Oesterreich.  Gesch.,  XLL,  jm 
Ibid.  302  seq.  shows  Sigismund  to  have  ultimately  become  the 
sport  of  depraved  women. 

In  1455  the  sentence  of  greater  excommunication  was 
pronounced  on  the  obstinate  inmates  of  the  convent,  who 
thereupon  appealed  to  the  Pope.  Calixtus  III.  disapproved  of 
the  Cardinal's  (Cusa's)  severity,  and  recommended,  for  the 
sake  of  avoiding  scandal,  that  the  matter  should  be  amicably 
adjusted.  Cusa,  however,  would  yield  nothing,  and  the  nuns 
persevered  in  their  resistance,  relying  on  the  protection  of  the 
Duke  (Sigismund). — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol. 
III.,  pp.  180,  181. 

Many  of  the  monasteries  were  in  a  most  deplorable  con- 
dition. The  three  essential  vows  of  poverty,  chastity  and 
obedience,  were  in  sonle  convents  almost  entirely  disregarded. 
.  .  The  discipline  of  many  convents  of  nuns  was  equally  lax. 
—Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  V.,  pp.  172,  173. 

Sixtus  IV.  found  it  necessary  to  direct  a  Bull  against  some 
Carmelites  in  Bologna  who  had  maintained  that  there  was  no 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  IO5 

harm  in  asking  for  things  from  demons. — Dr.  Pastor's  History 
of  the  Popes,  Vol.  V.,  p.  152. 

THE  CHURCH  BETWEEN  NINTH  AND  TENTH  CENTURIES. 

The  Church,  notably  in  Italy  and  in  some  portions  of  the 
former  Frankish  Empire,  had  fallen  from  the  high  position 
to  which  she  had  been  raised  by  Charlemagne  to  as  low  a 
depth  as  she  could  well  reach.  .  .  In  the  midst  of  the  turmoil 
and  conflict  of  parties,  it  was  but  natural  that  the  clergy 
should  be  distinguished  by  ignorance  rather  than  learning ; 
and,  this  being  the  case,  it  was  equally  natural  that  the  bulk  of 
the  people  should  grow  up  without  the  necessary  religious  in- 
struction and  information.  Such  was  in  matter  of  fact  the 
condition  of  things.  People  grew  worldly  and  sensual ;  religion 
was,  in  many  instances,  little  better  than  a  gross  and  degrad- 
ing superstition ;  the  veneration  paid  to  the  saints  was  but  a 
few  removes  from  Paganism ;  the  reverence  given  to  images 
was  excessively  exaggerated. — Dr.  Alzog's  Manual  of  Uni- 
versal Church  History,  Vol.  11.,  p.  391. 

The  efforts  of  Benedict  XII. ,  Innocent  VI.,  and  Urban 
V.  were  ineffectual  to  counteract  the  influence  of  these  wide- 
spread disorders.  Relaxation  and  dissoluteness  infected  every 
member  of  the  Church,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest;  stem 
and  branch  languished,  barren  and  dishonored. — Dr.  Alzog's 
Manual  of  Universal  Church  History,  Vol.  II.,  p.  845. 

Men  were  not  wanting  to  whom  these  shameful  courses 
became  an  occasion  for  altogether  rejecting  the  institution  of 
the  Papacy.  A  Canon  of  Bamberg,  Dr.  Theodorich  Morung, 
who  had  gone  to  Rome  on  some  affairs  of  the  Diocese  in  the 
spring  of  1485,  on  his  return  home  expressed  himself  in  this 
sense. — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  V.,  p.  370. 

MORALS  OF  THE  CLERGY,  A.  D.  1303-1517. 

The  gradual  decline  of  papal  influence  and  the  evil* ex- 
ample of  the  lives  of  some  of  the  Popes  reacted  with  terrible 
effect  upon  the  morals  of  the  bishops.  As  many  of  these  had 
secured  their  sees  by  the  employment  of  questionable  means, 
it  need  excite  no  surprise  if,  having  once  entered  upon  the 
duties  of  their  office,  they  led  lives  the  reverse  of  exemplary, 
and  did  absolutely  nothing  to  elevate  the  standard  of  morality 
among  the  faithful.  .  .  It  must  be  admitted  that  morality, 


IO6  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

especially  among  the  lower  clergy  and  in  the  monasteries,  was 
dissolute  indeed  in  the  fifteenth  century.  .  .  Concubinage  was 
the  crying  vice  among  the  clergy  of  many  dioceses.  .  .  Such 
scandals  will  occur  in  the  very  best  and  purest  ages.  .  .  Neither 
can  the  action  of  synods  be  taken  as  conclusive  against  the 
morals  of  any  age.  .  .  But  after  allowance  has  been  made  for 
every  such  modifying  circumstance,  the  fact  that  during  this 
age  the  morality  of  the  clergy  was  deplorable,  is  still  before 
us  in  all  its  hideous  deformity.  This  dissoluteness  of  morals 
rapidly  infected  the  laity,  who  learned  from  those  whose  lives 
should  have  been  examples  of  manly  honesty  and  priestly 
honor  to  put  a  light  estimate  on  the  virtue  of  purity.  The 
leading  minds  of  the  Councils  were  divided  as  to  what  means 
to  employ  for  removing  so  deep  a  stain  from  the  priestly  char- 
acter. Some  professed  to  believe  that  the  marriage  of  the 
clergy  was  the  only  adequate  remedy  for  the  evil ;  but  others  .  . 
maintained  that  the  well-being  of  the  Church  depended  upon 
the  rule  of  celibacy,  the  observance  of  which  would  be  ren- 
dered morally  certain  if  based  upon  a  thoroughly  clerical  edu- 
cation, an  education  such  as  is  consonant  with  a  divine  call- 
ing to  the  priesthood.  Decrees  were  enacted  punishing  with 
fines  and  deposition  those  of  the  clergy  who  should  refuse  to 
leave  off  living  in  concubinage. 

As  these  disorders  were  very  generally  believed  to  be  a 
consequence  of  the  great  wealth  of  the  clergy,  many  asserted 
that  the  removal  of  so  potent  an  occasion  of  sin,  was  the  first 
step  towards  either  forming  a  new  clergy,  with  more  exalted 
principles  of  priestly  purity  and  honor,  or  raising  up  those  of 
the  existing  clergy  from  the  depth  of  degradation  to  which 
their  avarice  and  their  immorality  had  precipitated  them,  and 
establishing  them  once  more  in  the  esteem  and  affections  of  a 
laity  who  now  regarded  them  with  aversion  and  contempt. 
— Dr.  Alzog's  Manual  of  Universal  Church  History,  Vol.  11., 
•pp.  928-931. 
.  GRAFT  AT  THE  PAPAL  COURT. 

So  wide  an  extension  and  so  active  an  exercise  of  the 
power  and  authority  of  the  Holy  See  called  for  a  large  and 
efficient  staff  of  officials  about  the  immediate  person  of  the 
Pope,  and  the  continual  presence  of  papal  legates  in  distant 
countries.  For  the  decisions  in  all  legal  matters,  the  Roman 
court  was  the  highest  tribunal  of  appeal,  and  for  these  legal 
services  heavy  fees  were  exacted.  The  legates  sent  into  the 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  IO7 

various  countries  to  look  after  ecclesiastical  affairs,  as  a  rule, 
made  an  honest  and  conscientious  use  of  the  vast  authority 
with  which  they  were  invested;  but  the  abuses  which  they 
not  unfrequently  permitted  themselves  excited  the  most  bitter 
complaints  even  against  the  Popes,  who,  to  their  honor  be  it 
said,  always  meant  well,  but  were  not  always  faithfully  served. 
— Dr.  Alzogs  Manual  of  Universal  Church  History,  Vol.  IL, 
PP-  633,  <>34. 

POPES  INFLUENCED  BY  ASTROLOGY. 

Astrology  was  so  bound  up  with  Italian  life  that  many 
even  of  the  Popes,  Sixtus  IV.,  Julius  II.,  Leo  X.,  and  still 
later  Paul  III.,  were  influenced  by  the  notions  of  their  time. 
It  is  uncertain  whether  or  not  Paul  II.  tolerated  Astrology. 
— Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  V.}  p.  149. 

Astrology  in  those  days  evidently  had  superseded  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

THE  PLAIN  CATHOLIC  PEOPLE  SAVED  THE  CHURCH. 

The  religious  dispositions  of  the  people  held  many  things 
together  which  threatened  to  fall  to  pieces,  and  explain  much 
that  would  otherwise  be  difficult  of  solution ;  it  was  often  very 
touchingly  manifested.  When  Gregory  XL,  the  last  of  the 
Avignon  Popes,  laid  an  interdict  upon  Florence,  crowds  of 
citizens  used  to  assemble  in  the  evening  before  the  images  of 
the  Madonna,  at  the  corners  of  the  streets,  and  endeavor  by 
their  prayers  and  hymns  to  make  up  for  the  cessation  of  pub- 
lic worship.  Vespasiano  da  Bisticci,  in  his  life  of  (Pope) 
Eugenius  IV.,  relates  that  when  the  Pope,  during  his  sojourn 
in  Florence,  blessed  the  people  from  a  balcony  erected  in 
front  of  the  church  of  Sta.  Maria  Novella,  the  whole  of  the 
wide  square  and  the  adjoining  streets  resounded  with  sighs  and 
prayers;  it  seemed  as  if  our  Lord  Himself,  rather  than  His 
Vicar,  was  speaking.  In  1450,  when  Nicholas  V.  celebrated 
the  restoration  of  peace  to  the  Church  by  the  publication  of  a 
Jubilee,  a  general  migration  to  the  Eternal  City  took  place; 
eye-witnesses  compared  the  bands  of  pilgrims  to  the  flight  of 
starlings,  or  the  march  of  myriads  of  ants.  In  the  year  1483 
the  Siennese  consecrated  their  city  to  the  Mother  of  God,  and 
in  1495,  at  the  instigation  of  Savonarola,  the  Florentines  pro- 
claimed Christ  their  King.  .  .  Side  by  side  with  these  evi- 


IO8  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

deuces  of  religious  feeling  in  the  Italian  people,  the  age  of  the 
Renaissance  certainly  exhibits  alarming  tokens  of  moral  de- 
cay ;  sensuality  and  license  reigned,  especially  among  the  higher 
classes. — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  /.,  pp.  34,  35. 

CORRUPTION  IN   THE   COLLEGE   OF   CARDINALS. 
GRAFT,  IMMORALITY,  CRUELTY,  WORLDLINESS,  ETC. 

The  lives  of  many  cardinals,  bishops,  and  prelates,  are 
a  sad  spectacle  at  a  time  when  one  man  could  hold  any  num- 
ber of  benefices,  and  squander  unabashed  the  revenues  derived 
from  them  in  a  career  of  luxury  and  vice.  The  serious  cor- 
ruption in  the  College  of  Cardinals  began  under  Sixtus  IV., 
and  during  the  reign  of  Innocent  VIII.  it  increased  to  such 
an  extent  that  it  became  possible  by  bribery  to  procure  the 
election  of  such  a  successor  as  Alexander  VI.  A  glance  at 
the  lives  of  Ippolito  d'Este,  Francesco  Lloris,  Caesar  Borgia, 
and  others,  is  enough  to  show  the  character  of  the  members  ad- 
mitted under  this  Pope  into  the  Senate  of  the  Church.  It  was 
not  till  the  reign  of  Julius  II.  that  a  partial  improvement  took 
place,  and  even  he  bestowed  the  purple  on  such  worthless  per- 
sons as  Sigismondo  Gonzaga  and  Francesco  Alidosi.  Strict 
ecclesiastical  discipline  was  not  re-established  in  the  College 
of  Cardinals  till  the  middle  of  the  i6th  century. — Dr.  Pas- 
tor's History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  V.,  pp.  170,  i/i. 

Of  Cardinal  Ippolito  d'Este,  we  are  told  that  he  hired 
assassins  to  put  out  the  eyes  of  his  natural  brother  Julius,  be- 
cause one  of  his  mistresses  had  remarked  that  they  were  beau- 
tiful. 

He  was  made  a  cardinal  at  the  age  of  fifteen  years. — Dr. 
Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  V.,  p.  171,  foot-note,  and 
p.  417. 

INCIDENTS  IN  THE  LIVES  OF  POPES. 

JOHN  XL,  A.  D.  931-936. 
Made  Pope  by  His  Infamous  Mother. 

Dr.  Alzog  says  that  his  mother  was  Marozia,  one  of  the 
infamous  daughters  of  the  infamous  courtesan,  Theodora  the 
elder.  While  she  was  in  the  possession  of  the  castle  of  St. 
Angelo,  she  had  Pope  John  X.  cast  into  prison  and  put  to 
death.  Pope  John  XL  was  her  son  by  her  first  husband,  and 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  lOQ 

he  "  was  throughout  his  whole  reign,  subject  to  the  baneful 
influence  of  either  his  mother  or  brother." — Dr.  Alzog  s  Man- 
ual of  Universal  Church  History,  Vol.  II. ,  pp.  293,  295,  296. 

JOHN  XII.,  A.  D.  955-964. 
A  Profligate.     Indicted  for  Incest,  etc. 

In  the  year  956,  Octavian,  a  youth  only  eighteen  years 
of  age,  the  son  of  Alberic,  Duke  of  Tuscany,  the  husband  of 
Marozia,  succeeded,  through  the  influence  of  his  faction,  in 
having  himself  raised  to  the  papal  throne.  The  custom,  now 
common  with  popes,  of  changing  their  baptismal  name  upon 
their  accession,  into  one  more  ecclesiastical  in  form,  was  first 
introduced  by  John  XII.  'His  pontificate  lasted  till  the  year 
964.  Though  young  in  years,  this  unworthy  occupant  of  the 
papal  chair  was  old  in  profligacy,  and  brought  disgrace  upon 
his  exalted  office  by  his  many  vices  and  shameful  excesses.  .  . 
When  (King)  Otho  was  informed,  upon  the  authority  of  the 
leading  citizens  of  Rome,  that  John  XII.  was  stained  with 
the  guilt  of  immorality,  simony,  and  other  vices  equally  hein- 
ous, he  dismissed  the  charges  with  the  remark :  "  He  is  still 
young,  and  may,  with  the  example  of  good  men  before  him, 
and  under  the  influence  of  their  counsel,  grow  better  as  he 
grows  older."  (Otho,  while  at  Pavia,  learned  of  treacherous 
conduct  on  the  part  of  Pope  John  XII.  towards  him  and)  he 
set  out  for  Rome,  where  he  arrived  November  2,  A.  D.  962; 
but  John  and  (Prince)  Adelbert,  not  daring  to  await  his  com- 
ing, had  already  fled,  taking  with  them  the  treasure  of  St. 
Peter's  Church.  The  Romans  took  the  oath  of  fealty  to  Otho. 
.  .  He  (Otho)  convoked  (A.  D.  963)  a  synod  to  meet  in  St. 
Peter's  Church,  at  which  forty  bishops  and  sixteen  cardinals 
were  present,  for  the  purpose  of  deposing  the  Pope.  .  .  This 
so-called  Synod  indicted  the  Pope  on  the  charges  of  incest, 
perjury,  blasphemy,  murder,  and  others  equally  enormous. 

This  synod  deposed  Pope  John  XII. ,  and  elected  Leo,  a 
layman,  who  was  called  Pope  Leo  VIII.,  to  the  pontificate. 
Later,  John  XII.  returned  to  Rome,  and  drove  out  the  anti- 
pope,  assembled  a  synod,  declared  the  acts  of  the  synod  called 
by  Otho  null  and  of  no  effect,  deposed  and  excommunicated 
Leo,  and  pronounced  his  ordination  invalid. 

No  sooner  had  John  gained  this  triumph  over  his  enemies 
than  he  again  went  back  to  his  former  licentious  habits  and 


IIO  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

unseemly  excesses.  But  though  God  may  tolerate  such  things 
for  a  time,  His  vengeance  usually  overtakes  one  in  the  end. 
John  was  suddenly  stricken  down  with  cerebral  apoplexy,  and 
died,  at  the  end  of  eight  days,  without  being  able  to  receive 
the  Holy  Viaticum. — Dr.  Alzog's  Manual  of  Universal  Church 
History,  Vol.  1 1.,  pp.  297,  298,  303,  304,  305. 

BENEDICT  IX.,  1033-1044. 

A  Profligate.     Gets  Married. 

Count  Alberic,  the  brother  of  Benedict  VIII.  and  John 
XIX.,  succeeded,  by  means  of  unbounded  bribery,  in  having 
his  son,  Theophylactus,  a  young  man  of  only  eighteen  (12?), 
but  far  more  proficient  in  vice  than  became  one  of  his  age, 
elected  Pope,  under  the  name  of  Benedict  IX.  For  eleven 
years  did  this  young  profligate  disgrace  the  chair  of  St.  Peter. 
One  of  his  successors  (Pope  Victor  III.),  in  speaking  of  him, 
said,  "  that  it  was  only  with  feelings  of  horror  he  could  bring 
himself  to  relate  how  disgraceful,  outrageous,  and  execrable 
was  the  conduct  of  this  man  after  he  had  taken  priest's  orders." 
The  Romans  put  up  with  his  misconduct  and  vices  for  a  time ; 
but,  seeing  that  he  grew  worse  instead  of  better,  from  day  to 
day,  they  finally  lost  all  patience  with  him,  and  drove  him 
from  the  city.  The  Emperor  Conrad  .  .  .  conducted  him 
back  to  Rome  and  reinstated  him  in  his  office;  but,  on  the 
death  of  the  former  (Conrad),  Benedict  was  again  forced 
to  leave  the  city;  and 'his  enemies,  by  making  liberal  distribu- 
tions of  money  among  the  people,  reconciled  public  opinion 
to  the  election  of  an  antipope  in  the  person  of  John,  Bishop 
of  Sabina,  who  took  the  name  of  Sylvester  III.  After  an  ab- 
sence of  a  few  months,  Benedict  was  brought  back  by  the 
members  of  the  powerful  family  to  which  he  belonged ;  but  he 
had  scarcely  been  fairly  seated  on  his  throne  when  he  gave 
fresh  offense  to  the  people  by  proposing  a  marriage  between 
himself  and  his  cousin.  The  father  of  the  young  lady  refused 
to  give  his  consent  to  the  proposed  union,  unless  Benedict 
would  first  resign  the  papacy,  and  the  archpriest  John,  a 
man  of  piety  and  rectitude  of  life,  fearing  the  consequences 
so  great  a  scandal  would  bring  upon  the  Church,  also  offered 
him  a  great  sum  of  money  if  he  would  withdraw  to  private 
life.  Benedict,  who  longed  for  privacy,  that  he  might  the  more 
fully  indulge  his  passions,  listened  with  pleasure  to  these  sug- 
gestions, and  finally  consented  to  resign  and  retire  to  live  as  a 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  Ill 

private  citizen,  in  one  of  the  castles  belonging  to  his  family. 
It  was  the  honest  purpose  of  the  archpriest  John  to  raise  the 
Holy  See  from  the  degradation  to  which  it  had  been  sunk  by  the 
tyranny  and  the  bribery  of  the  nobles ;  but,  at  the  same  time, 
conscious  that  the  only  way  to  defeat  them  was  to  outbid  them 
in  the  purchase  of  the  venal  populace,  he  distributed  money 
lavishly,  but  judiciously,  and  thus  secured  his  own  election. 
He  took  the  name  of  Gregory  VI.  But  the  love  of  power  and 
notoriety  soon  grew  upon  Benedict.  He  repented  of  the  step 
he  had  taken,  and,  coming  forth  from  the  privacy  which  had 
now  lost  its  fascination,  and  supported  by  his  powerful  rela- 
tives, he  again  put  forth  his  claims  to  the  papacy.  There 
were  now  three  persons  (Benedict  IX.,  Sylvester  III.  and 
Gregory  VI.)  claiming  the  same  dignity.  This  condition  of 
affairs  brought  grief  to  the  hearts  of  the  well  disposed  of  all 
parties,  and  they  coming  together,  invited  Henry  III.  of  Ger- 
many .  .  to  put  an  end  to  the  confusion  and  restore  order.  .  . 
He  caused  a  synod  to  be  convened  .  .  at  Sutri,  at  which  Syl- 
vester III.  was  condemned  and  ordered  to  retire  to  cloister, 
and  there  pass  the  remainder  of  his  days.  Benedict's 
claims,  owing  to  his  resignation,  were  not  taken  into  account, 
and  Gregory  came  forward,  and,  on  his  own  motion,  declared 
that  though  he  had  had  the  best  intentions  in  aiming  at  the  pap- 
acy, there  could  be  no  question  that  his  election  had  been  se- 
cured "  by  disgraceful  bribery  and  accompanied  by  simoniacal 
heresy,  and  that,  in  consequence,  he  should  of  right  be  deprived 
of  the  papal  throne,  and  did  hereby  resign  it."  Accompanied 
by  his  disciple,  Hildebrand,  he  afterward  retired  to  the  mon- 
astery of  Clugny.  .  .  The  Romans  had  sworn  that  they  would 
not  choose  another  Pope  during  the  lifetime  of  Gregory,  and 
they  therefore  begged  Henry  III.,  as  he  with  his  successors 
enjoyed  the  title  of  Patrician  of  Rome,  to  make  choice  of  one. 
Henry  selected  for  the  office  Suidger,  Bishop  of  Bamberg,  who 
took  the  name  of  Clement  II. — Dr.  Alzog's  Manual  of  Uni- 
versal Church  History,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  316-319, 

JOHN  XXII.,  1316-1334. 
A  Multimillionaire. 

John  died  (December  4,  1334),  leaving  a  well-filled  ex- 
chequer whose  wealth,  amounting  to  eighteen  millions  of  gold 
florins  and  seven  millions  in  jewels,  was  derived  chiefly  from 


112  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

annats,  or  the  first  year's  revenue  of  a  vacant  bishopric ;  from 
expectancies,  or  moneys  paid  by  clerics  to  the  Pope  for  let- 
ters securing  them  the  first  benefices  that  should  fall  vacant; 
and  from  the  tithe,  or  a  levy  amounting  to  the  tenth  of  its 
value  on  all  property.  It  was  said  that  the  Pope  was  accumu- 
lating this  wealth  to  undertake  a  new  Crusade,  and  to  put 
him  in  a  position  to  restore  the  pontifical  residence  to  Rome. 
— Dr.  Alzogs  Manual  of  Universal  Church  History,  Vol.  II. , 

P-  835- 

URBAN  V.,  1362-1370. 

Indescribable  Immorality. 

Urban  V.  was  one  of  the  best  of  Popes.  .  .  The  period 
was  in  many  ways  a  most  melancholy  one.  The  prevailing 
immorality  exceeded  anything  that  had  been  witnessed  since 
the  tenth  century.  .  .  Habits  of  life  changed  rapidly,  and  be- 
came more  luxurious  and  pleasure  seeking.  The  clergy  of 
all  degrees,  with  some  honorable  exceptions,  went  with  the 
current.  .  .  Gold  became  the  ruling  power  everywhere.  .  . 
The  officials  of  the  Papal  Court  omitted  no  means  of  enrich- 
ing themselves.  No  audience  was  to  be  obtained,  no  business 
transacted  without  money,  and  even  permission  to  receive 
Holy  Orders  had  to  be  purchased  by  presents.  The  same 
evils,  on  a  smaller  scale,  prevailed  in  most  of  the  episcopal 
palaces.  The  promotion  of  unworthy  and  incompetent  men, 
and  the  complete  neglect  of  the  obligation  of  residence,  were 
the  results  of  this  system.  The  synods,  indeed,  often  urged 
this  obligation,  but  the  example  of  those  in  high  places  counter- 
acted their  efforts.  The  consequent  want  of  supervision  is 
in  itself  enough  to  explain  the  decay  of  discipline  in  the  mat- 
ter of  the  celibacy  of  the  clergy,  though  the  unbridled  im- 
morality, which  kept  pace  with  the  increasing  luxury  of  the 
age,  had  here  also  led  many  astray.  Urban  V.  .  .  clearly  saw 
that  the  reformation  of  the  clergy  was  the  first  thing  to  be 
attended  to,  and  took  vigorous  measures  .  .  against  immoral 
and  simoniacal  ecclesiastics  and  idle  monks. — Dr.  Pastor's 
History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  L,  pp.  97-98. 

GREGORY  XL,  1370-1378. 
'A  Revolt.    St.  Catherine  Denounces  Papal  Court. 

(The  States  of  the  Church  revolted.)  Consternation 
reigned  in  Avignon;  Gregory  XL,  timid  by  nature, 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  113 

was  deeply  shocked  and  alarmed  by  the  evil  tidings 
from  Italy.  .  .  He  endeavored  to  make  terms  with  his  op- 
ponents but  in  vain.  .  .  In  face  of  the  reckless  proceedings  of 
his  enemies,  Gregory  XI.  believed  the  time  had  come  when 
even  a  pacific  Pontiff  must  seriously  think  of  war.  A  sen- 
tence accordingly  went  forth,  which,  as  time  proved,  was 
terrible  in  its  effects  and  in  many  respects  doubtless  too  severe. 
The  citizens  of  Florence  were  excommunicated,  an  interdict 
was  laid  upon  the  city  ;  Florence,  with  its  inhabitants  and 
possessions,  was  declared  to  be  outlawed.  Gregory  XL  came 
to  the  unfortunate  decision  of  opposing  force  by  force,  and 
sending  the  wild  Breton  mercenaries,  who  were  then  at  Avig- 
non with  their  captain,  Jean  de  Maletroit,  to  Italy,  under  the 
command  of  the  fierce  Cardinal  Legate,  Robert  of  Geneva. 
War  was  declared  between  the  last  French  Head  of  the  Church 
and  the  Republic  of  Florence.  —  Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the 
Popes,  Vol.  I.,  pp.  102, 


(St.  Catherine)  urged  him  by  word  of  mouth,  as  she  had 
already  done  in  her  letters,  to  undertake  the  reformation  of 
the  clergy.  The  worldly-minded  Cardinals  were  amazed  at 
the  plain  speaking  of  this  nun.  She  told  the  Pope  of  his  fail- 
ings, especially  of  his  inordinate  regard  for  his  relations.  .  . 
She  loudly  complained  that  at  the  Papal  Court,  which  ought 
to  have  been  a  Paradise  of  virtue,  her  nostrils  were  assailed 
by  the  odours  of  hell.  It  is  greatly  to  the  honor  of  Gregory 
that  St.  Catherine  could  venture  to  speak  thus  plainly,  and 
equally  to  her  honor  that  she  did  so  speak. 

Many  would  have  been  glad  to  crush  her.  —  Dr.  Pastor's 
History  of  the  Popes,  Vol  L,  pp.  107,  108. 

A  TWO-HEADED  PAPACY. 

At  a  number  of  times  there  were  two  and  even-  three  Popes 
at  the  same  time. 

I  now  give  a  brief  account  of  the  two-headed  papacy 
which  started  during  the  pontificate  of  Urban  VI.  My  readers 
will  please  note  that  the  "  corruption  of  the  clergy  was  the  root 
of  all  the  misery." 

The  election  of  Urban  VI.  had  taken  place  under  cir- 
cumstances so  peculiar  that  it  was  easy  to  call  it  in  question. 
It  was  impossible  for  those  not  on  the  spot  to  investigate  it  in 


114  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

all  its  details,  and  the  fact  that  all  who  had  taken  part  in  it 
subsequently  renounced  their  allegiance,  was  well  calculated 
to  inspire  doubt  and  perplexity.  It  is  extremely  difficult  .  .  to 
estimate  the  difficulties  of  contemporaries  who  sought  to  know 
which  of  the  two  Popes  had  a  right  to  their  obedience.  The 
extreme  confusion  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  canonized 
Saints  are  found  among  the  adherents  of  each  of  the  rivals.  .  . 
The  writings  of  the  period  give  more  or  less  evidence  of  the 
conflicting  opinions  which  prevailed;  and  upright  men  after- 
wards confessed  that  they  had  been  unable  to  find  out  which 
was  the  true  Pope. 

Peter  Suchenwirt,  in  a  poem  written  at  this  period,  de- 
scribed the  distress,  which  the  growing  anarchy  within  the 
Church  was  causing  in  men's  minds,  and  earnestly  beseeches 
God  to  end  it.  "  There  are  two  Popes  "  he  says,  "  which  is  the 
right  one?"  (This  is  Dr.  Pastor's  recital  of  the  poem)  : 

"  In  Rome  itself  we  have  a  Pope, 

In  Avignon  another; 

And  each  one  claims  to  be  alone 

The  true  and  lawful  ruler. 

The  world  is  troubled  and  perplext,' 

Twere  better  we  had  none 

Than  two  to  rule  o'er  Christendom, 

Where  God  would  have  but  one. 

He  chose  St.  Peter,  who  his  fault 

With  bitter  tears  bewail'd, 

As  you  may  read  the  story  told 

Upon  the  sacred  page. 

Christ  gave  St.  Peter  pow'r  to  bind, 

And  also  pow'r  to  loose ; 

Now  men  are  binding  here  and  there, 

Lord,  loose  our  bonds  we  pray." 

We  can  scarcely  form  an  idea  of  the  deplorable  condition 
to  which  Europe  was  reduced  by  the  schism.  .  .  This  schism 
affected  the  whole  of  Christendom,  and  called  the  very  ex- 
istence of  the  Church  in  question.  The  discord  touching  its 
Head  necessarily  permeated  the  whole  body  of  the  Church; 
in  many  Dioceses  two  Bishops  were  in  arms  for  the  possession 
of  the  Episcopal  throne,  two  Abbots  in  conflict  for  an  Abbey. 
The  consequent  confusion  was  indescribable.  We  cannot  won- 
der that  the  Christian  religion  became  the  derision  of  Jews 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  115 

and  Mahometans.  .  .  All  evils  which  had  crept  into  ecclesias- 
tical life  were  infinitely  increased.  Respect  for  the.  Holy  See 
was  also  greatly  impaired.  .  .  The  schism  allowed  each  Prince 
to  choose  which  Pope  he  would  acknowledge.  In  the  eyes 
of  the  people  the  simple  fact  of  a  double  papacy  must  have 
shaken  the  authority  of  the  Holy  See  to  its  very  foundations. 
It  may  truly  be  said  that  these  fifty  years  of  schism  prepared 
the  way  for  the  great  Apostacy  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

The  Cardinals  of  the  rival  Popes  were  at  open  variance  .  . 
in  many  cases  public  worship  was  altogether  discontinued. 

The  most  clear  sighted  contemporary  writers  point  to  the 
corruption  of  the  clergy,  to  their  inordinate  desire  for  money 
and  possessions — in  short,  to  their  selfishness — as  the  root  of 
all  the  misery. — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  L, 
pp.  138-142,  143,  146. 

It  certainly  is  passing  strange  that  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  "  upright  men  "  of  that  sad  time  were  "  unable  to 
find  out  which  was  the  true  Pope,"  yet  Dr.  Pastor,  living  five 
hundred  years  later,  assisted  by  five  Cardinals,  has  no  diffi- 
culty at  all  to  tell  which  was  the  true  Pontiff.  Surely  it  is  a 
matter  for  deep  regret  that  those  "  upright  men  "  died  five 
centuries  before  the  lifetime  of  Dr.  Pastor  and  his  eminent 
supervisors!  (See  Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  L, 
p.  120). 

Together  with  the  revolt  against  the  Church,  a  social  revo- 
lution was  openly  advocated.  A  chronicler  writing  at  Mayence 
in  the  year  1401,  declares  that  the  cry  "  Death  to  the  Priests!" 
which  had  long  been  whispered  in  secret,  was  now  the  watch- 
word of  the  day. — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  L, 
p.  120. 

Pius  II.,  1458-1464. 

The  Father  of  Several  Children.    A  Writer  of  Erotic 
Literature. 

(He  was  Aeneas  Sylvius  of  the  noble  house  of  Piccolo- 
mini,  and  was)  unable  to  enter  upon  his  studies  until  his 
eighteenth  year — gifted  with  a  fine  mind — Secretary  under 
Capranica,  Bishop  of  Fermo,  .  .  whom  he  accompanied  to 
the  Council  of  Basle — promoted  to  the  office  of  Recorder  of  the 


116  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

Council.  He  was  also  frequently  sent  on  important  embassies, 
during  some  of  which  he  was  not  over  discreet  in  his  con- 
duct. He  fell  in  with  an  English-woman  at  Strasburg,  by 
whom  he  had  a  son,  a  fact  which  he  quietly  communicated  to 
his  father  without  any  attempt  at  exculpation  other  than  a 
reference  to  the  examples  of  David  and  Solomon.  .  .  he  was 
created  Cardinal  by  Calixtus  III.  .  .  He  was  called  to  fill  the 
chair  of  Peter  and  took  the  name  of  Pius  II. — Dr.  Alzogs 
Manual  of  Universal  Church  History,  Vol.  II. ,  pp.  898-900. 

Pope  Pius  II.  was  a  writer  of  erotic  literature.  Dr.  Pas- 
tor says : 

Beccadelli's  disgraceful  work  did  not,  unfortunately, 
stand  alone,  for  Poggio,  Filer  Filelfo  and  Aeneas  Sylvius 
Piccolomini  (Pope  Pius  II.)  have  much  to  answer  for  in  the 
way  of  highly  seasoned  anecdotes  and  adventures. — Dr.  Pas- 
tor's History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  I.,  p.  24. 

Dr.  Pastor  says  of  the  early  life  of  this  Pope: 

He  was  employed  by  the  Council  as  Scriptor,  Abbreviator, 
and  Chief  Abbreviator;  was  a  member  of  the  commission  of 
dogma,  and  took  part  in  several  embassies.  .  .  His  happiest 
hours  were  spent  in  Basle,  in  a  little  circle  of  friends,  like  him- 
self, of  studious  tastes  and  of  lax  morality.  .  .  We  have  posi- 
tive proof  that  his  own  moral  life  was  deeply  tainted  by  the  cor- 
ruption which  surrounded  him,  and  that  he  even  gloried 
in  his  errors  with  the  shamelessness  of  a  Boccaccio.  (Foot- 
note) :  See  especially  the  notorious  and  much  misused  letter 
to  his  father,  in  which  he  begs  him  to  receive  a  little  son 
whom  a  Bretonne  woman  had  borne  him.  Another  illegitimate 
child  of  Aeneas'  died  early. — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the 
Popes;  Vol.  L,  pp.  342,  343. 

INNOCENT  VIIL,  1484-1492. 

Formerly  Cardinal  Cibo.     Buys  Election.  The  Father  of  two 
Children.    Marries  his  Son' in  the  Vatican;  also  two  Rela- 
tives.    Reform.     Forged  Bulls.     Clerical  Sports.     A 
14-year-old  Cardinal.     New  Means  to  Ex- 
tort Money.     Pawns  his  Mitre. 

The  news  of  the  death  of  Sixtus  IV.,  which  had  taken 
place  on  the  I2th  of  August,  1484,  set  all  Rome  in  commo- 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  117 

tion.  .  .  A  strong  movement  in  favor  of  the  Colonna,  and  in 
opposition  to  the  chief  favorite  of  the  late  Pope,  Girolamo 
Riario,  soon  made  itself  felt.  With  wild  shouts  of  "  Colonna, 
Colonna  "  the  infuriated  populace  invaded  the  palace  of  Giro- 
lamo on  the  1 3th  August  and  devastated  it  so  completely 
that  nothing  but  the  bare  walls  remained.  .  .  In  a  short  time 
the  city,  to  which  all  the  armed  vassals  of  both  parties  flocked 
in  crowds,  had  become  an  open  camp.  Civil  war  threatened 
to  break  out  every  moment.  All  shops  were  closed ;  no  one 
could  venture  into  the  streets  without  endangering  his  life. 
The  palaces  of  the  Cardinals  were  changed  into  small 
fortresses ;  according  to  the  account  of  one  of  the  ambassa- 
dors, the  owners  seemed  to  be  prepared  for  an  immediate  at- 
tack. The  Cardinals  Giuliano  della  Rovere  and  Rodrigo  Bor- 
gia especially  had  rilled  their  houses  with  troops,  had  erected 
outworks  and  provided  themselves  with  artillery.  .  .  The 
whole  town  was  in  arms  and  uproar.  Such  was  the  state 
of  Rome  when  the  obsequies  of  Sixtus  IV.  began  on  the  I7th 
August,  1484.  Only  a  few  of  the  cardinals  were  present.  .  . 
Owing  to  the  energetic  interference  of  Cardinal  Marco  Bar- 
bo,  affairs  assumed  a  more  promising  aspect.  .  .  On  the  25th 
August  (1484)  the  obsequies  of  Sixtus  IV.  were  finished, 
and  on  the  day  following  the  25  Cardinals  present  in  Rome 
went  into  Conclave.  .  .  The  Italian  Cardinals  had  a  complete 
majority  over  the  four  foreigners.  .  .  The  Conclaves  of  1484 
and  1492  are  among  the  most  deplorable  in  the  annals  of 
Church  history.  The  first  step  taken  by  the  Cardinals  in 
Conclave  was  to  draw  up  an  election  capitulation ;  in  doing 
so  they  openly  disregarded  the  prohibitions  of  Innocent  VI.  .  . 
The  personal  interests  of  the  electors  (Cardinals)  were  the 
primary  consideration.  .  .  There  existed  a  great  divergency 
of  opinion  as  to  who  would  be  raised  to  the  Pontifical  dignity. 
.  .  Italian  diplomacy  was,  of  course,  not  idk.  .  .  All  the  re- 
ports agree  in  stating  that  Rodrigo  Borgia,  (afterwards  Pope 
Alexander  VI.)  was  trying  his  utmost  to  obtain  the  Tiara.  .  . 
Jakob  Burchard,  who  took  part  in  the  Conclave,  relates  that 
Cardinal  Cibo  won  the  votes  of  his  future  electors  by  sign- 
ing petitions  for  favors  which  they  presented  to  him  during 
the  night  in  his  cell.  .  .  At  9  o'clock  a.  m.  Cardinal  Piccolomini 
was  able  to  announce  to  the  crowd  assembled  outside  the  Vati- 
can that  Cardinal  Cibo  had  been  elected  and  had  assumed  the 
name  of  Innocent  VIII.  The  people  burst  forth  into  acclama- 


Il8  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

ttons,  the  bells  of  the  palace  of  St.  Peter  began  to  ring  and 
the  thunder  of  cannons  resounded  from  the  Castle  of  St.  An- 
gelo.  The  newly  elected  Pontiff  .  .  was  above  middle  size.  .  . 
He  studied  at  Padua  and  at  Rome,  and  in  his  youth  had  no 
intention  of  taking  Orders,  and  his  life  at  the  licentious  court 
of  Aragon  was  no  better  than  that  of  many  others  in  his  posi- 
tion. He  had  two  illegitimate  children,  a  daughter,  Teodorina, 
and  a  son,  Franceschetto.  The  statements  of  Infessura  and  of 
the  poet  Marullus,  who  speak  of  seven  or  sixteen  children,  are 
exaggerations.  .  .  It  is  certain  that  from  the  moment  (he) 
entered  the  ecclesiastical  state,  all  the  accusations  against  the 
purity  of  his  private  life  cease.  .  .  All  accounts  agree  in 
praising  the  kindness,  the  benevolent  and  amiable  disposition 
of  the  newly  elected  Pope,  but  they  are  equally  unanimous  in 
condemning  his  want  of  independence,  and  weakness.  "  He 
gives  the  impression  of  a  man  who  is  guided  rather  by  the 
advice  of  others  than  by  his  own  lights,"  says  the  Florentine 
ambassador  of  him.  .  It  is  not  surprising  that  Giuliano  della 
Rovere,  to  whom  Cibo  owed  his  promotion  to  the  dignities 
both  of  Cardinal  and  Pope,  obtained  an  unbounded  ascendancy 
over  (him). — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  V .,  pp. 
229,  231-236,  238-242. 

On  Sept.  nth,  all  the  preparations  for  the  coronation 
(of  Innocent  VIII.)  were  completed.  .  .  In  the  morning  the 
Pope  went  to  St.  Peter's,  celebrated  High  Mass  there,  and 
gave  his  benediction  to  the  people.  Then  Cardinal  Piccolo- 
mini  crowned  him  outside  the  Basilica.  After  a  short  in- 
terval he  went  in  solemn  procession  to  take  possession  of  the 
Lateran  Palace.  The  homage  of  the  Jews,  usual  on  such  an 
occasion,  took  place  in  the  interior  of  the  Castle  of  S.  An- 
gelo.  .  .  An  immense  crowd  of  people  thronged  the  streets, 
which  were  decorated  with  green  boughs  and  gorgeous  hang- 
ings and  carpets.  Sixteen  noblemen  carried  the  canopy,  un- 
der which  the  Pope  rode  on  a  white  horse,  richly  caparisoned 
in  white  and  gold.  He  had  on  his  head  a  golden  crown,  and 
over  his  shoulders  the  pallium,  and  wore  round  his  neck  a 
costly  amice,  and  a  cross  of  gold  on  his  breast,  and  blessed 
the  people  as  he  passed. — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes, 
Vol.  V.,  pp.  243,  244. 

A  project  of  a  marriage  between  Lorenzo's  second 
daughter  Maddalena  and  Franceschetto  Cibo  (bastard  son 
of  Pope  Innocent  VIII.)  was  broached;  but  on  account  of 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION. 

the  youth  of  the  bride  its  celebration  had  to  be  postponed 
for  a  while. — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  V.,  pp. 
265,  266. 

(This  marriage  finally  took  place,  and  Dr.  Pastor  thus 
describes  it):  On  November  I3th  (1487)  the  bride  entered 
Rome,  accompanied  by  her  mother.  On  the  i8th  the  Pope 
gave  a  banquet  in  honour  of  the  bridal  pair,  and  made  them 
a  present  of  jewels  worth  10,000  ducats.  At  the  beginning 
of  his  Pontificate,  Innocent  (VIII.)  had  refused  to  allow 
Franceschetto  to  reside  in  Rome;  now  with  almost  incredible 
weakness  he  celebrated  the  nuptials  in  his  own  palace.  The 
marriage  contract  was  signed  on  January  2Oth,  1488.  Lor- 
enzo was  vexed  at  finding  that  Innocent  VIII.  showed  no 
disposition  to  make  an  extensive  provision  for  the  newly  mar- 
ried couple,  but  his  annoyance  was  still  greater  at  his  delay 
in  the  bestowal  of  the  Cardinal's  Hat,  which  had  been  prom- 
ised to  his  second  son  Giovanni.  The  marriage  of  Maddalena 
with  Franceschetto,  who  was  by  many  years  her  senior,  was 
not  a  happy  one;  though  utterly  rude  and  uncultured,  Cibo 
was  deeply  tainted  with  the  corruption  of  his  time ;  he  cared 
for  nothing  but  money,  in  order  to  squander  it  in  gambling 
and  debauchery;  but  quite  apart  from  this  the  alliance  be- 
tween the  Cibo  and  Medici  families  was  a  most  questionable 
proceeding.  "  This  was  the  first  time  that  the  son  of  a  Pope 
had  been  publicly  recognized,  and,  as  it  were,  introduced  on 
the  political  stage."  . .  In  the  November  of  the  following  year 
Innocent  VIII.  celebrated  also  in  the  Vatican  the  marriage  of 
his  granddaughter  Peretta  (daughter  of  Teodorina)  with 
the  Genoese  merchant  Gherardo  Usodimare;  the  Pope  himself 
sat  at  table  at  the  banquet.  .  .  Burchardi  remarks :  "  These 
things  were  not  secret  but  were  divulged  to  and  known  by 
all  the  city." — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  V.,  pp. 
269,  270. 

Ferrante's  behavior  towards  the  Pope  underwent  a  com- 
plete transformation.  Amidst  effusive  professions  of  grati- 
tude and  devotion  he  commenced  negotiations  for  a  family 
alliance  between  himself  and  Innocent  VIII.  He  proposed 
that  his  grandson,  Don  Luigi  of  Aragon,  should  marry  Bat- 
tistina,  a  daughter  of  Teodorina  and  Gherardo  Usodimare.  .  . 
Ferrante  despatched  an  envoy  to  Innocent  VIII.  to  discuss 
this  subject.  On  the  27th  of  May,  Ferdinand,  Prince  of 


I2O  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

Capua,  son  of  Alfonso  of  Calabria,  and  Ferrante's  grandson 
(Don  Luigi),  came  to  Rome  and  was  received  with  royal 
honors.  A  chronicler  of  the  time  says  that  he  will  not  at- 
tempt to  describe  the  splendours  of  this  reception  as  no  one 
would  believe  him,  and  the  contemporaneous  reports  of  the 
envoys  corroborate  his  statement.  A  banquet,  given  by  Car- 
dinal Sforza,  which  lasted  six  hours,  seems  to  have  sur- 
passed in  sumptuousness  anything  hereto  imagined.  Dra- 
matic performances  were  included  in  the  pleasures  provided 
for  the  guests.  The  entertainment  given  in  honour  of  the 
betrothal  of  Luigi  of  Aragon  to  Battistina  Cibo  furnished  an 
occasion  for  a  fresh  display  of  magnificence  in  the  Vatican  it- 
self. (This  marriage  took  place  later,  and  Dr.  Pastor  says)  : 
The  Pope's  condition  improved,  so  much  that  he  was  able  to  take 
part  in  the  solemn  reception  of  the  Holy  Spear,  and  the  mar- 
riage of  Luigi  of  Aragon  with  Battistina  Cibo.  —  Dr.  Pastors 
History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  V.,  pp.  284-286, 


Unfortunately  nothing  of  any  importance  was  done  un- 
der Innocent  VIII.  for  the  reform  of  ecclesiastical  abuses. 
At  the  same  time  Infessura's  statement  that  the  Pope  had 
authorised  concubinage  in  Rome  is  absolutely  unfounded.  We 
have  documentary  evidence  that  in  France,  Spain,  Portugal 
and  Hungary,  he  punished  this  vice  with  severity.  (In  a 
foot-note  here  Dr.  Pastor  says)  :  See  in  the  Injunction  to  the 
Archbishop  of  Rouen  to  take  measures  against  clerical  con- 
cubinage. 

No  proof  that  he  (Innocent  VIII.)  favored  it  (con- 
cubinage) in  Rome  has  yet  been  adduced.  .  .  In  this  particu- 
lar instance  it  is  not  difficult  to  find  the  probable  origin  of  the 
calumny.  In  1489  it  was  discovered  that  a  band  of  unprin- 
cipled officials  were  carrying  on  a  p'rofitable  traffic  in  forged 
Bulls.  Neither  entreaties  nor  bribes  were  of  any  avail  to 
induce  Innocent  to  abstain  from  punishing  the  crime  with 
the  utmost  severity.  Domenico  of  Viterbo  and  Francesco 
Maldente  who  were  found  guilty  were  hanged,  and  their 
bodies  burned  in  the  Campo  di  Fiore.  Now  it  is  notorious 
that  some  of  the  forged  Bulls  were  to  this  effect  (authorising 
concubinage),  and  the  supposed  permission  accorded  by  In- 
nocent VIII.  to  the  Norwegians  to  celebrate  Mass  without 
wine  was  also  a  forgery.  The  existence  of  such  a  confederacy 
for  forging  Bulls  throws  a  lurid  light  on  the  state  of  morals 
in  the  Papal  Court,  where  Franceschetto  Cibo  (bastard  son 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  121 

of  the  then  reigning  Pope,  Innocent  VIII.)  set  the  worst  pos- 
sible example.  The  increasing  prevalence  of  the  system  of 
purchasing  offices  greatly  facilitated  the  introduction  of  un- 
trustworthy officials.  The  practice  may  be  explained,  but  can- 
not be  excused,  by  the  financial  distress  with  which  Innocent 
VIII.  had  to  contend  during  the  whole  of  his  reign,  and  the 
almost  universal  custom  of  the  time.  Numberless  briefs  de- 
plore the  terrible  dearth  of  money.  In  the  Bull  increasing 
the  number  of  the  College  of  Secretaries  from  the  original  six 
to  thirty,  want  of  money,  which  had  obliged  the  Pope  to  pawn 
even  the  Papal  mitre,  is  openly  assigned  as  the  reason  for  this 
measure.  Between  them,  the  new  and  the  old  secretaries 
brought  in  a  sum  of  62,400  gold  florins  and  received  in  re- 
turn certain  privileges  and  a  share  in  various  taxes.  Innocent 
VIII.  also  created  the  College  of  Piombatori  with  an  entrance 
fee  of  500  gold  florins.  Even  the  office  of  Librarian  to  the 
Vatican  was  now  for  sale.  No  one  can  fail  to  see  the  evils  to 
which  such  a  state  of  things  must  give  rise.  Sigismondo  de' 
Conti  closes  his  narrative  of  the  increase  in  the  number  of 
secretaries  with  the  words :  "  Henceforth  this  office,  which  had 
been  hitherto  bestowed  as  a  reward  for  industry,  faithfulness 
and  eloquence,  became  simply  a  marketable  commodity." 
Those  who  had  thus  purchased  the  new  offices  endeavored  to 
indemnify  themselves  out  of  other  people's  pockets.  These 
greedy  officials,  whose  only  aim  was  to  get  as  much  for  them- 
selves as  possible  out  of  the  churches  with  which  they  had  to 
do,  were  naturally  detested  in  all  countries,  and  the  most  de- 
termined opponents  of  reform. 

The  corruptibility  of  all  the  officials  increased  to  an  alarm- 
ing extent,  carrying  with  it  general  insecurity  and  disorder 
in  Rome,  since  any  criminal  who  liad  money  could  secure  im- 
munity from  punishment.  Gregorovius  points  out  that  all  the 
other  cities  in  Italy  were  in  the  same  case.  The  conduct  of 
some  members  of  the  Pope's  immediate  circle  even  gave  great 
scandal.  Franceschetto  Cibo  (the  Pope's  bastard  son)  was 
mean  and  avaricious,  and  led  a  disorderly  life,  which  was  doub- 
ly unbecoming  in  the  son  of  a  Pope ;  he  paraded  the  streets  at 
night  with  Girolamo  Tuttavilla,  forced  his  way  into  the  houses 
of  the  citizens  for  evil  purposes,  and  was  often  driven  out  with 
shame.  In  one  night  Franceschetto  lost  14,000  ducats  to  Car- 
dinal Riario  and  complained  to  the  Pope  that  he  had  been 
cheated.  Cardinal  de  la  Balue  also  lost  8,000  to  the  same  Car- 


122  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

dinal  in  a  single  evening. — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes, 
Vol.  V.,  pp.  350-354. 

In  order  to  obtain  the  means  for  the  gratification  of  such 
passions  as  these  (gambling),  or  worse,  the  worldly  minded 
Cardinals  were  always  on  the  watch  to  maintain  or  increase 
their  power.  This  explains  the  stipulation  in  the  election  capit- 
ulation that  the  number  of  the  Sacred  College  was  not  to 
exceed  twenty-four.  Innocent  VIII. ,  however,  did  not  con- 
sider himself  bound  to  observe  this  condition,  and  already  in 
1485  we  hear  of  his  intention  of  creating  new  Cardinals.  The 
College  refused  its  consent,  and  the  opposition  of  the  older 
Cardinals  was  so  violent  and  persistent  that  some  years  passed 
before  the  Pope  was  able  to  carry  out  his  purpose.  In  the  in- 
terval as  many  as  nine  of  the  old  Cardinals  had  died.  .  .  . 
Though,  in  one  respect,  these  deaths  facilitated  the  creation 
of  new  Cardinals,  on  the  other  (hand)  great  difficulties  were 
caused  by  the  urgent  demands  of  the  various  Powers  for  the 
promotion  of  their  candidates.  In  the  beginning  of  March, 
1489,  the  negotiations  were  at  last  brought  to  a  conclusion, 
and  on  the  Qth  of  the  month  five  new  Cardinals  were  nominat- 
ed. (Among  these  was  the  Pope's  nephew.)  .  .  .  Three 
others  were  reserved  in  petto.  (One  of  the  three  was  a  son  of 
de'  Medici,  and  Dr.  Pastor  says  of  this  youth)  :  Giovanni  de' 
Medici,  Lorenzo's  second  son,  was  then  only  in  his  fourteenth 
year;  he  was  born  December  n,  1475.  His  father  had  des- 
tined him  for  the  Church  at  an  age  at  which  any  choice  on  his 
part  was  out  of  the  question,  and  confided  his  education  to 
distinguished  scholars.  ...  At  seven  years  old  he  re- 
ceived the  tonsure,  and  the  chase  after  rich  benefices  at  once 
began.  Lorenzo  in  his  notes  details  these  proceedings  with 
appalling  candour.  In  1483,  before  he  had  completed  his  eighth 
year,  Giovanni  was  presented  by  Louis  XI.  to  the  Abbacy  of 
Font  Douce  in  the  Bishopric  of  Saintes.  Sixtus  IV.  confirmed 
this  nomination,  declared  him  capable  of  holding  benefices 
and  made  him  a  Prothonotary  Apostolic.  Henceforth  "  what- 
ever good  things  in  the  shape  of  a  benefice,  commendam,  rector- 
ship, fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Medici,  was  given  to  Lorenzo's 
son."  In  1484  (when  he  was  nine  years  of  age)  he  was  al- 
ready in  possession  of  the  rich  Abbey  of  Passignano,  and  two 
years  later  was  given  the  venerable  Benedictine  Abbey  of  Monte 
Cassino  in  commendam.  But  even  this  was  not  enough  for 
Lorenzo,  who  with  indefatigable  persistency  besieged  the  Pope 


EOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  123 

r(who  was  the  father-in-law  of  Lorenzo's  daughter)  and  Car- 
dinals to  admit  the  boy  into  the  Senate  of  the  Church.  He 
did  not  scruple  to  represent  Giovanni's  age  as  two  years  more 
than  it  really  was.  Innocent  VIII.  resisted  for  a  long  time, 
but  finally  gave  way;  and  he  was  nominated  with  the  stipula- 
tion that  he  was  to  wait  three  years  before  he  assumed  the 
insignia  of  the  cardinalate  or  took  his  seat  in  the  College.  Lor- 
enzo found  this  condition  extremely  irksome,  and,  in  the  begin- 
ning of  1490,  instructed  his  Ambassador  to  do  everything  in 
his  power  to  get  the  time  shortened.  The  Pope,  however,  who 
wished  Giovanni  to  devote  the  time  of  probation  to  the  study 
of  Theology  and  Canon-law,  was  inexorable,  and  Lorenzo  had 
to  wait  till  the  full  period  had  expired.  When  at  last  the  day 
for  his  son's  elevation  arrived  he  was  too  ill  to  be  able  to  assist 
at  any  of  the  ceremonial  services.  The  moment  they  were  con- 
cluded the  young  Cardinal  started  for  Rome,  where  great  prep- 
arations were  being  made  for  his  reception.  On  March  22, 
1492,  the  new  Cardinal  Deacon  of  Sta.  Maria  in  Dominica 
(Giovanni,  aged  then  about  sixteen  years  and  three  months!) 
entered  Rome  by  the  Porta  del  Popolo;  on  the  following  day 
the  Pope  admitted  him,  with  the  customary  ceremonies,  to  the 
Consistory. — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  V.,  pp. 
354-358. 

Innocent,  like  his  predecessors,  invented  new  means  of 
extorting  money  from  the  churches  to  fill  his  depleted  treasury. 
The  decrees  of  (the  Councils  of)  Constance  and  Basle  were 
either  entirely  forgotten  or  lost  sight  of;  ecclesiastical  affairs 
were  esteemed  of  little  consequence,  and  artists  and  savans 
seemed  to  have  taken  the  place  of  ecclesiastics.  This  Pope, 
however,  deserves  considerable  credit  for  his  energetic  efforts 
to  suppress  sorcery  and  witchcraft  and  the  remnants  of  the 
heresy  of  John  Huss. — Dr.  Alzogs  Manual  of  Universal 
Church  History,  Vol.  II,  pp.  906,  907.  . 

Innocent  VIII.  was  known,  before  he  was  made  Pope,  as 
Giovanni  Batista  Cibo  and  he  "  had  passed  a  frivolous  youth." 
— Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  IV,  p.  410. 

POPE  ALEXANDER  VI.,  1492-1503. 

Before  he  became  Pope  he  was  Cardinal  Rodrigo  Borgia. 
He  bought  the  Papacy.     He  was  the  most  infamous  of 
the  iniquitous  Popes  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church. 


124  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

His  life  was  a  blasphemy.     His  memory  rots. 

The  following  is  a  brief  epitome  of  his  life  in  the  words 

of  Dr.  Pastor : 

CHARACTER. 

(Calixtus  III.  had  a  partiality  for  one  of  his  nephews, 
Rodrigo  Borgia,  who  was  a  man  of  remarkable  abilities,  but 
sensual.)  He  loaded  him  with  dignities  and  favors  of  all  kinds. 
(At  the  age  of  twenty-five  he  was  secretly  created  a  Cardinal, 
in  1456) — an  unjustifiable  action,  and  the  evil  was  aggravated 
by  the  fact  that  Rodrigo  (Borgia)  was  an  immoral  and  vicious 
man. 

In  the  time  of  Pius  II.  the  historian  Gasparo  di  Verona 
sketched  his  (Rodrigo's)  portrait  in  the  following  terms:  "  He 
is  handsome,  of  a  pleasant  and  cheerful  countenance,  with  a 
sweet  and  persuasive  manner.  With  a  single  glance  he  can 
fascinate  women,  and  attract  them  to  himself  more  strongly 
than  a  magnet  draws  iron."  .  .  Repeated  efforts  have  .  . 
been  made  in  recent  years  to  rehabilitate  the  moral  character 
of  this  man.  In  the  face  of  such  a  perversion  of  the  truth, 
it  is  the  duty  of  the  historian  to  show  that  the  evidence  against 
Rodrigo  (Pope  Alexander  VI.)  is  so  strong  as  to  render  it 
impossible  to  restore  his  reputation. — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of 
the  Popes,  Vol.  II,  pp.  448-452. 

The  first  light  thrown  upon  Rodrigo's  immorality  occurs 
in  an  admonitory  letter  of  the  year  1460,  in  which  Pius  II.  re- 
proaches the  Cardinal. .  Says  Pius  II :  "  You,  beloved  son,  gov- 
ern the  Bishopric  of  Valencia,  the  first  in  Spain ;  you  are  also 
Chancellor  of  the  Church,  and  you  sit  with  the  Pope  among 
the  Cardinals,  the  Counsellors  of  the  Holy  See.  We  leave  it 
to  your  own  judgment  whether  it  is  becoming  to  your  dignity 
to  pay  court  to  ladies,  to  send  fruit  and  wine  to  the  one  you 
love,  and  all  day  long  to  think  of  nothing  but  pleasure.  .  .  . 
A  Cardinal  must  be  blameless  and  an  example  of  moral  life  be- 
fore the  eyes  of  all  men.  What  right  have  we  to  be  angry  if 
temporal  princes  call  us  by  names  that  are  little  honorable  .  .  ? 
We  trust  in  your  prudence  to  remember  your  dignity, 
and  not  suffer  yourself  to  be  called  a  gallant  by  women  and 
youths."  The  hopes  of  Pius  II.  were  not  realised.  Cardinal 
Rodrigo  would  not  change  his  mode  of  life. — Dr.  Pastor's  His- 
tory of  the  Popes,  Vol.  II. ,  pp.  452,  453,  455. 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  125 

GROSSLY  IMMORAL.     HAS  FOUR  CHILDREN.     LUXURY. 

They  .  .  (the  worldly  Cardinals)  allowed  themselves  the 
utmost  license  in  morals ;  this  was  specially  the  case  with  Rod- 
rigo  Borgia  (afterwards  Pope  Alexander  VI.).  His  uncle 
Calixtus  III.,  had  made  him  a  Cardinal  and  Vice-Camerlengo 
while  he  was  still  very  young,  and  he  had  accumulated  bene- 
fices to  an  extent  which  gave  him  a  princely  income.  In  the 
time  of  Sixtus  IV.  he  was  already,  according  to  d'Estouteville, 
the  wealthiest  member  of  the  College  of  Cardinals.  One  of 
his  contemporaries  describes  him  as  a  fine-looking  man  and  a 
brilliant  cavalier,  cheery  and  genial  in  manner,  and  winning 
and  fluent  in  conversation;  irresistibly  attractive  to  women. 
His  immoral  courses  brought  upon  him  a  severe  rebuke  from 
Pius  II.  But  nothing  had  any  effect.  Even  after  he  had  re- 
ceived priest's  orders,  which  took  place  in  August,  1468,  and 
when  he  was  given  the  bishopric  of  Albano,  which  he  after- 
wards exchanged  in  1476  for  that  of  Porto,  he  still  would  not 
give  up  his  dissolute  life;  to  the  end  of  his  days  he  remained 
the  slave  of  the  demon  of  sensuality.  From  the  year  1460  Van- 
ozza  de  Cataneis,  born  of  Roman  parents  in  1442,  was  his  ac- 
knowledged mistress.  She  was  married  three  times;  in  1474 
to  Domenico  of  Arignano;  in  1480  to  a  Milanese,  Giorgio  de 
Croce;  and  in  1486  to  a  Mantuan,  Carlo  Canale,  and  died  in 
Rome  on  the  26th  of  November,  1518,  aged  76.  The  names 
of  the  four  children  whom  she  bore  to  the  Cardinal  (Rodrigo 
Borgia)  are  inscribed  on  her  tomb  in  the  following  order: 

Caesar,  Juan,  Jofre,  and  Lucrezia.  This  inscription, 

originally  in'Sta.  Maria  del  Popolo,  has  disappeared  from 
thence,  like  many  others,  but  has  been  preserved  in  a  col- 
lection of  MSS.  It  is  absurd  to  doubt  its  genuineness.  .  It 
runs  thus : 

"  Vanotiae  Cathanae  Cesare  Valentiae  Joane  Cadiae. 
Jofrido  Scylatii  et  Lucretia  Ferrariae  ducib,  filiis  nobili 
Probitate  insigni  religione  eximia  pari  et  aetate  et  f 

Prudentia  optime  de  xenodochio  Lateranen.  meritae.         j 
Hieronymus  Picus  fideicomiss.  procur.  ex  test,  pos." 

Vanozza  is  the  diminutive  of  Giovanni,  as  Paluzzo  is  of  Paolo ; 
according  to  Jovius,  in  her  later  days  she  strove  to  make  repar. 
ation  for  her  sins  by  her  piety.  Besides  these,  Cardinal  Rod- 
rigo had  other  children, — a  son,  Pedro  Luis,  certainly  born  be- 
fore 1460,  (which)  may  be  gathered  from  the  deed  of  legitima- 


126  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

tion  granted  by  Sixtus  IV.,  Nov.  5,  1486,  in  which  Pedro  Luis 
is  called  "  adolescens,"  and  described  as  the  issue  of  de  tune 
Diacono  Cardinali  et  soluta;  and  a  daughter,  Girolama,  but 
apparently  by  a  different  mother.  Rodrigo  turned  to  his  Span- 
ish home  for  the  careers  of  these  children,  who  were  legitima- 
tised  one  after  another.  In  1485  he  obtained  the  dukedom  of 
Gandia  for  Pedro  Luiz.  .  .  in  1488  he  (Pedro)  came  to  Rome, 
and  in  August  fell  sick  there  and  died,  certainly  before  the  year 
1491.  He  left  all  that  he  possessed  to  his  brother  Juan,  the 
best  of  Rodrigo's  sons,  born  in  1474,  who  eventually  married 
his  brother's  intended  bride.  The  Cardinal's  third  son,  Caesar, 
born  in  1475,  was  from  childhood,  without  any  regard  to  his 
aptitude  or  wishes,  destined  to  the  Church.  Sixtus  IV.  on  ist 
of  October,  1480,  dispensed  him  from  the  canonical  impediment 
for  the  reception  of  Holy  Orders,  caused  by  his  being  born 
out  of  wedlock,  because  he  was  the  son  of  a  Cardinal  and  his 
mother  was  a  married  woman.  At  the  age  of  seven  years 
Caesar  was  made  a  Protonotary,  and  was  appointed  to  benefices 
in  Xativa  and  other  cities  in  Spain,  and  under  Innocent  VIII. 
to  the  Bishopric  of  Pampeluna.  Jofre  also,  born  in  1480  or 
1481,  was  intended  for  the  Church;  he  is  mentioned  as  a  Can- 
on, Prebendary,  and  Archdeacon  of  the  Cathedral  of  Valencia. 
Lucrezia,  born  in  1478,  seemed,  like  her  brothers,  destined  to 
make  her  home  in  her  father's  native  land,  for  in  1491  she  was 
betrothed  to  a  Spaniard.  The  mother  of  these  children,  Van- 
ozza  de  Cateneis,  possessed  substantial  property  in  Rome,  and 
a  house  on  the  Piazza  Branca,  close  to  the  palace  which  Rodrigo 
Borgia  had  built  for  himself.  ...  In  the  reign  of  Inno- 
cent VIII.  Jacopo  da  Volterra  writes  of  Cardinal  Rodrigo: 
"  He  has  good  abilities  and  great  versatility.  .  He  is  naturally 
shrewd.  He  is  reputed  to  be  very  rich,  and  his  influence  is 
great  on  account  of  his  connections  with  so  many  kings  and 
princes.  He  has  built  for  himself  a  splendid  and  commodious 
palace.  .  .  .  His  revenues  from  his  numerous  benefices 
and  Abbeys  in  Italy  and  Spain  and  his  three  bishoprics  of  Va- 
lencia, Porto,  and  Cartagena  are  enormous;  while  his  post  of 
Vice-Camerlengo  is  said  also  to  bring  him  in  8,000  gold  ducats 
yearly.  He  possesses  immense  quantities  of  silver-plate,  pearls, 
hangings,  and  vestments  embroidered  in  gold  and  silk,  and 
learned  books  of  all  sorts,  and  all  of  such  splendid  quality  as 
would  befit  a  king  or  a  pope.  I  pass  over  the  sumptuous  adorn- 
ments of  his  litters  and  trappings  for  his  horses,  and  all  his 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  127 

gold  and  silver  and  silks,  together  with  his  magnificent  ward- 
robe and  his  hoards  of  treasure."  We  obtain  a  highly  interest- 
ing glimpse  into  the  amazing  luxury  of  Cardinal  Borgia's  pal- 
ace from  a  hitherto  unknown  letter  of  Cardinal  Ascanio  Sfor- 
za,  dated  22nd  of  October,  1484.  On  that  day  Borgia,  who, 
as  a  rule,  was  not  a  lover  of  the  pleasures  of  the  table,  gave  a 
magnificent  banquet  in  his  palace.  .  The  whole  palace  was 
splendidly  decorated.  In  the  great  entrance  halls  the  walls 
were  covered  with  hangings  representing  various  historical 
events.  A  smaller  room  opened  into  this,  also  hung  with  ex- 
quisite Gobelin  tapestry.  The  carpets  on  the  floor  were  se- 
lected to  harmonize  with  the  rest  of  the  furniture,  of  which 
the  most  prominent  piece  was  a  sumptuous  state-coach  up- 
holstered in  red-satin,  with  a  canopy  over  it.  This  room  also 
contained  the  Cardinal's  credenza,  a  chest  surmounted  by  gi 
slab,  on  which  was  ranged  for  exhibition  an  immense  quantity] 
of  table  plate  and  drinking  vessels  in  gold  and  silver,  while  the 
lower  part  was  a  marvel  of  exquisitely  finished  work.  This 
apartment  was  flanked  by  two  others,  one  of  which  was  hung 
with  satin  and  carpeted,  the  divan  in  it  being  of  Alexandrian 
velvet;  while  in  the  other,  still  more  splendid,  the  coach  was 
covered  with  gold  brocade  and  magnificently  decorated.  The 
cloth  on  the  central  table  was  of  velvet,  and  the  chairs  which 
surrounded  it  were  exquisitely  carved. — Dr.  Pastor's  History 
of  the  Popes,  Vol.  V.,  pp.  362-367. 

BUYS  THE  PAPACY. 

In  view  of  the  failing  health  of  Innocent  VIII.  the  Cabinets 
of  the  Italian  powers  had  for  some  time  been  occupied  with 
the  probability  of  a  Papal  election.  .  .  .  On  July  25,  1492, 
when  the  death  of  Innocent  VIII.  was  hourly  expected,  the 
intrigues  in  regard  to  the  election  were  at  their  height.  .  .  . 
Some  were  for  Piccolomini  and  some  again  for  Borgia.  The 
Florentine  envoy  ...  on  the  28th  July  mentions  stren- 
uous efforts  on  the  part  of  the  Roman  barons  to  influence  the 
election,  and  the  foreign  powers  were  equally  active.  It  was 
currently  reported  that  Charles  VIII.  of  France  had  paid  200,- 
ooo  ducats  into  a  bank,  and  the  Republic  of  Genoa  100,000,  in 
order'to  secure  the  election  of  Giuliano  della  Rovere,  On  the 
strength  of  this^  they  fully  expected  that  their  countryman 
would  be  chosen*  As  soon  as  it  became  known  that  the  Pope 
was  seriously  ill  an  eager  interchange  of  communications  at 


128  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

once  commenced  between  the  Italian  powers,  but  they  were 
unable  to  come  to  any  agreement.  .  .  .  Giuliano  della 
Rovere  did  not  want  for  rivals.  .  .  .  The  chances  were 
against  Borgia  because  he  was  a  Spaniard,  and  many  of  the 
Italian  Cardinals  were  determined  not  to  elect  a  foreigner ;  but 
the  wealth  of  the  Spanish  Cardinal  was  destined  to  turn  the 
scales  in  the  Conclave.  .  .  .  The  Conclave  began  on  Au- 
gust 6th.  On  the  loth  of  August  the  Florentine  Ambassador, 
who  was  one  of  the  guards  of  the  Conclave,  writes  that  there 
had  been  three  scrutinies  without  result;  Caraffa  and  Costa 
seemed  to  have  the  best  chance.  Both  were  worthy  men,  and 
one,  Caraffa,  was  a  man  of  distinguished  abilities.  The  election 
of  either  would  have  been  a  great  blessing  to  the  Church.  Un- 
fortunately a  sudden  change  came  over  the  whole  situation. 
As  soon  as  Ascanio  Sforza  perceived  that  there  was  no  likeli- 
hood that  he  would  himself  be  chosen,  he  began  to  lend  a  will- 
ing ear  to  Borgia's  brilliant  offers.  Rodrigo  (Borgia)  not  only 
promised  him  the  office  of  Vice-Chancellor  with  his  own  palace, 
but  in  addition  to  this  the  Castle  of  Nepi,  the  Bishopric  of 
Erlau  with  a  revenue  of  10,000  ducats,  and  other  benefices. 
Cardinal  Orsini  was  to  receive  the  two  fortified  towns  of 
Monticelli  and  Soriano,  the  legation  of  the  Marches  and  the 
Bishoprics  of  Carthagena;  Cardinal  Colonna,  the  Abbacy  of 
Subiaco  with  all  the  surrounding  villages;  (Cardinal)  Savelli, 
Civita  Castellana  and  the  Bishopric  of  Majorca;  (Cardinal) 
Pallavicini,  the  Bishopric  of  Pampeluna;  (Cardinal)  Giovanni 
Michiel,  the  suburban  bishopric  of  Porto ;  the  Cardinals  Sclaf- 
enati,  Sanseverino,  Riario  and  Domenico  della  Rovere,  rich  ab- 
bacies and  valuable  benefices.  By  these  simoniacal  means, 
counting  his  own  vote  and  those  of  the  Cardinals  Ardicino  del- 
la  Porta  and  Conti  who  belonged  to  the  Sforza  party,  Borgia 
had  thus  secured  24  votes,  and  only  one  more  was  wanting  to 
complete  the  majority  of  two-thirds.  This  one,  however,  was 
not  easy  td  obtain.  The  Cardinals  Caraffa,  Costa,  Piccolomini 
and  Zeno  were  not  to  be  won  by  any  promises  however  brilliant ; 
and  the  young  Giovanni  de'  Medici  held  with  them.  Cardinal 
Basso  followed  Giuliano  della  Rovere,  who  would  not  hear  of 
Borgia's  election.  Lorenzo  Cibo  also  held  aloof  from  these 
unhallowed  transactions.  Thus  Gherardo,  now  in  his  ninety- 
sixth  year  and  hardly  in  possession  of  his  faculties,  alone  re- 
mained, and  he  was  persuaded  by  those  who  were  about  him 
to  give  his  vote  to  Borgia.  The  election  was  decided  in  the 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION/  I2Q 

night  between  the  loth  and  nth  August,  1492,  and  in  the  early 
morning  the  window  of  the  Conclave  was  opened  and  the  Vice- 
Chancellor,  Rodrigo  Borgia,  was  proclaimed  Pope  as  Alex- 
ander VI.  The  result  was  unexpected ;  it  was  obtained  by  the 
rankest  simony.  Such  were  the  means,  as  the  annalist  of  the 
Church  says,  by  which,  in  accordance  with  the  inscrutable 
counsels  of  Divine  Providence,  a  man  attained  to  the  highest 
dignity,  who  in  the  early  days  of  the  Church  would  not  have 
been  admitted  even  to  the  lowest  rank  of  the  clergy,  on  account 
of  his  immoral  life.  The  days  of  distress  and  confusion  be- 
gan for  the  Roman  Church ;  the  prophetic  words  of  Savon- 
arola were  fulfilled ;  the  sword  of  the  wrath  of  God  smote  the 
earth,  and  the  time  of  chastisement  had  arrived. — Dr.  Pastors 
History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  V.,  pp.  377-386. 

ONE  OF  HIS  MISTRESSES. 

Let  us  see  what  Dr.  Pastor  has  to  say  further  about  "  the 
notorious  Giulia  Farnese  " : 

Writers  speak  of  an  unlawful  connection  between  Alex- 
ander VI.  and  Farnese's  sister  Giulia  (la  bella).  Infessura 
calls  Giulia,  Alexander's  concubine;  and  Matarazzo  in  his 
pamphlet,  p.  4,  and  Sannazar,  Epigr.,  I,  2,  both  use  the  same 
term.  A  stronger  proof  is  to  be  found  in  a  letter  of  Alexander 
to  Lucrezia  Borgia,  dated  July  24,  1494,  in  which  he  expresses 
his  annoyance  at  Giulia's  departure.  Any  further  doubt  in  re- 
gard to  these  relations,  which  began  while  he  was  still  a  Car- 
dinal, is  dispelled  by  the  letters  of  L.  Pucci  of  the  23rd  and 
24th  December,  1493,  published  by  Gregorovius  in  his  Lucrezia 
Borgia. — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  V ',  pp.  417, 
418. 

HAS  A  SON  BORN  WHILE  POPE  AND  LEGITIMATES  HIM. 

A  Bull  of  1 7th  of  September,  1501,  gave  to  Rodrigo,  the 
son  of  Lucrezia  and  Alfonso,  then  two  years  old,  the  Dukedom 
of  Sermoneta  with  Ninfa,  Cisterna,  Nettuno,  Ardea,  Nemi,  Al- 
bano,  and  other  towns.  The  Dukedom  of  Nepi,  which  included 
Palestrina,  Olevano,  Paliano,  Frascati,  Anticoli,  and  other 
places,  was  bestowed  on  Juan  Borgia,  also  an  infant.  This 
child  (Juan  Borgia)  was  legitimised  by  a  Bull  on  1st  Septem- 
ber, 1501,  as  the  natural  offspring  of  Caesar,  and  his  age  in- 
cidentally mentioned  as  about  three  years.  A  second  Bull  of 


I3O  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

the  same  date  (ist  September,  1501),  legitimised  this  same 
Juan  as  Alexander's  own  son.  (Dr.  Pastor  has  voluminous 
foot-notes  concerning  these  Bulls  and  the  paternity  of  this  Juan 
Borgia,  and  from  them  I  cull  the  following)  :  These  two  Bulls 
are  to  be  found  in  the  State  Archives  at  Modena.  The  first  is 
a  copy,  the  sejcond  the  original.  Another  original  draft  of  the 
second  Bull  is  to  be  found,  according  to  Thuasne,  in  the 
Archives  of  the  Duke  of  Ossuna.  In  view  of  possible  fu- 
ture apologists  in  the  style  of  (the  Catholic)  Ollivier,  it  may 
perhaps  be  well  to  observe  that  I  found  both  Bulls  in  the  Se- 
cret Archives  of  the  Vatican  in  the  official  Regesta  of  Alex- 
ander's reign.  Creighton,  IV.,  19,  supposes  that  Alexander, 
in  his  anxiety  to  secure  the  position  of  Caesar's  bastard  son, 
accused  himself  in  the  second  Bull  of  a  fault  which  he  had  not 
committed ;  but  from  Burchardi  Diarium,  II.,  170,  and  especial- 
ly from  Sigismondo  de'  Conti,  II.,  253,  who  is  always  trust- 
worthy, it  is  plain  that  Juan,  who  seems  to  have  been  born  on 
the  1 8th  June,  1497,  really  was  Alexander's  son.  .  .  .  An 
inscription  in  which  Franciscus  Cardinal  Cusentinus  is 
called  Juan's  guardian  has  been  published  in  Arch.  d.  Soc. 
Rom.,  VII.,  403 ;  and  also  IV.,  90,  in  opposition  to  Ademollo's 
hypothesis  that  Juan  was  the  child  of  Alexander  and  Lucrezia. 
(Main  text)  :  These  undoubtedly  genuine  documents  nullify 
all  attempts  to  rebut  the  accusations  against  the  moral  conduct 
of  the  Pope. — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  VI.,  pp. 
104-106. 

MAKES  HIS  DAUGHTER  LUCREZIA  REGENT. 

On  the  27th  of  July  (1501)  Alexander  went  to  Castel 
Gandolfo  and  Rocca  di  Papa  and  thence  to  Sermoneta.  He 
had  the  effrontery  to  hand  over  the  Regency  of  the  palace  to 
Lucrezia  Borgia  during  his  absence  with  power  to  open  his 
correspondence.  (Foot-note)  :  When  the  Pope  went  to  Nepi 
in  the  autumn  the  same  arrangement  was  made  for  the  time 
of  his  absence  (from  25th  Sept.  to  23rd  Oct.).  Of  course 
Lucrezia  was  only  Regent  in  regard  to  secular  affairs,  but  such 
a  thing  had  never  been  done  before,  and  was  a  startling  breach 
of  decorum. — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  VI. ,  pp. 
103,  104. 

A  POINTED  POEM. 

In  his  (Alexander  the  VPs)  own  palace  one  day,  a  set  of 
verses  were  put  up,  urging  tht  Colonna  and  Orsini  to  come 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  1^1 

forward  bravely  to  the  rescue  of  their  afflicted  country;  to 
slay  the  bull  (a  play  upon  the  Borgia  arms)  which  was  de- 
vastating Ausonia;  to  fling  his  calves  (bastard  children)  into 
the  raging  Tiber,  and  himself  into  hell. — Dr.  Pastor's  History 
of  the  Popes,  Vol.  VI. ,  p.  59. 

FOREVER  INFAMOUS. 

Any  further  attempt  to  rehabilitate  Alexander  VI.  is  ren- 
dered forever  impossible  by  the  documents  from  the  Archives 
of  the  Duke  of  Ossuna  in  Madrid  recently  published  by  Thuas- 
ne. — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  II. ,  p.  452,  foot- 
note. 

From  henceforth  it  is  clear  that  the  rehabilitation  of 
(Pope)  Alexander  VI.  is  a  hopeless  task. — Dr.  Pastor's  His- 
tory of  the  Popes,  Vol.  V .,  preface  p.  viii. 

HE  MUZZLED  THE  PRESS. 

Alexander  the  VI.  distinguished  himself  by  muzzling  the 
press. 

The  severe  censorship  which  Alexander  (VI)  exercised 
with  regard  to  all  publications,  would  seem  to  strengthen  the 
suspicion  that  he  had  a  dread  of  public  opinion. — Dr.  Alzog's 
Manual  of  Universal  Church  History,  Vol.  IL,  p.  912. 

His  Censorial  edict  for  Germany,  dated  1st  June,  1501,  is 
a  very  important  document  in  this  respect.  In  this,  which  is 
the  first  Papal  pronouncement  on  the  printing  of  books,  it  is  de- 
clared that  the  art  of  printing  is  extremely  valuable  in  provid- 
ing means  for  the  multiplication  of  approved  and  useful  books ; 
but  may  be  most  mischievous  if  it  is  abused  for  the  dissemina- 
tion of  bad  ones.  Therefore  measures  must  be  taken  to  re- 
strain printers  from  reproducing  writings  directed  against  the 
Catholic  Faith  or  calculated  to  give  scandal  to  Catholics. — Dr. 
Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  VI. ,  pp.  154,  155. 

ENERGETICALLY  REPRESSED  IMMORAL  HERETICS. 
In  Italy  Alexander  VI.  energetically  repressed  the  here- 
tical tendencies  which  were  especially  prevalent  in  Lombardy. 
On  the  3  ist  January,  1500,  two  inquisitors  were  sent  by  him 
with  letters  of  recommendation  to  the  Bishop  of  Olmiitz,  to 
proceed  against  the  very  numerous  Picards  and  Waldensians 
in  Bohemia  and  Moravia,  who  led  extremely  immoral  lives. — 
Dr.  Pastors  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  VI. ,  p.  156. 


132  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

JULIUS  II.,   1503-1513. 

He  was  the  war  Pope.  He  led  his  troops  on  the  battle 
field.  He  bought  the  Papacy.  He  was  the  father  of  children. 

Julius  II.  was  formerly  Giuliano  della  Rovere. 

(Before  Julius  II.  became  Pope  he  was  known  as  Giuliano 
della  Rovere.  He  was  made  a  Cardinal  in  youth.)  Sixtus 
IV.  had  not  occupied  the  Papal  throne  for  many  months  be- 
fore two  of  his  youthful  nephews,  Giuliano  della  Rovere  and 
Pietro  Riario,  were  admitted  into  the  Sacred  College.  .  .  Car- 
dinal Ammanati  speaks  of  the  elevation  of  two  youths,  now 
for  the  first  time  brought  out  of  obscurity,  and  altogether  in- 
experienced, as  an  act  of  imbecility.  .  .  Giuliano  della  Rovere 
was  certainly  the  most  remarkable  of  the  two  nephews.  .  . 
If  his  moral  character  was  not  unblemished,  his  outward  de- 
meanor was  always  becoming.  —  Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the 
Popes,  Vol.  IV.,  pp.  233,  236, 


Table  Bill  $4,600  to  $6,000  Monthly.     Objectionable  Ways  to 
Raise  Money.     Bribery  in  Roman  Court. 

He  (Julius  II.)  kept  a  better  table  than  Alexander  VI.  ; 
the  monthly  bill  for  this  (Julius'  table)  was  between  2,000 
and  3,000  ducats.  Julius  II.  was  so  economical  in  his  house- 
keeping that  he  was  quite  unjustly  accused  of  being  a  miser. 
It  is  quite  true  that  he  was  very  careful  to  keep  his  treasury 
always  well  filled.  He  quite  realised  the  futility  of  any  pre- 
tensions that  had  not  physical  force  to  back  them,  and  knew 
that  an  efficient  army  meant  plenty  of  money.  In  the  begin- 
ning of  his  reign  Julius  II.  had  great  financial  difficulties  to 
contend  with,  in  consequence  of  the  extravagance  of  his  pre- 
decessor. He  had  to  borrow  money,  and  to  pay  Alexander's 
debts,  even  down  to  the  medicine  which  he  had  required  in 
his  last  illness.  (Some  historians  allege  that  Caesar,  a  son  of 
Pope  Alexander  VI.  ,  appropriated  his  father's  treasure  im- 
mediately after  his  death.)  Some  of  the  means  which  he 
(Julius  II.)  adopted  for  the  replenishment  of  his  treasury  were 
of  a  very  objectionable  kind.  His  subjects  were  certainly  not 
oppressed  with  taxation,  but  it  cannot  be  denied  that  he  not 
only  sold  offices,  but  also  benefices.  This  formed  a  serious 
hindrance  to  the  reform  which  was  so  much  needed;  for  if 
that  were  carried  out,  it  would  mean  the  abolition  of  all  such 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  133 

sales.  It  is  true  that  under  Julius  II.  the  money  was  employed 
for  the  interests  of  the  Church,  and  not  for  the  enrichment 
of  his  family;  but  this  is  no  justification  for  persistence  in 
simony.  The  complaints  of  contemporaries  both  in  Italy  and 
abroad  shew  how  strongly  this  abuse  was  resented.  (A  foot 
note.)  On  the  bribery  which  prevailed  in  the  Roman  Court 
under  Julius  II.,  see  the  Swiss  Ambassadorial  Report  in  the 
Anz.  f.  Schweiz.  Gesch.  (1892),  373.  —  Dr.  Pastor's  History 
of  the  Popes,  Vol.  VI.,  pp.  223,  224. 

Had  Three  Natural  Daughters. 

Giuliano  della  Rovere  (Pope  Julius  II.)  had  three  daugh- 
ters. —  See  foot-note,  Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol. 
V.,  p.  369- 

Accused  of  Sodomy. 

Julius  IPs.  obstinate  confidence  in  (Cardinal)  Alidosi  has 
been  made  to  serve  as  a  ground  for  the  very  worst  accusations 
of  immorality  against  him.  .  .  Creighton  writes  :  "  It  is  hard 
to  account  for  the  infatuation  of  Julius  II.  towards  Cardinal 
Alidosi,  and  we  cannot  wonder  that  contemporary  scandal 
attributed  it  to  the  vilest  motives."  "  II  papa  era  molto  vitioso 
e  dedito  alia  libidine  Gomorrea,"  (The  Pope  was  very  much 
depraved  and  addicted  to  the  lechery  of  Gomorrah  —  now  the 
crime  of  sodomy),  says  a  relazione  of  Trevisan,  printed  by 
Brosch,  Julius  II.,  296.  The  charge  was  often  repeated  with 
reference  to  Alidosi.  It  was  a  rude  way  of  explaining 
what  could  not  be  explained.  —  Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the 
Popes,  Vol.  VI.,  pp.  342,  351,  foot-note. 

LEO  X.,   1513-1521.     LAVISHLY  EXTRAVAGANT.     LEAST   FIT- 

TED TO  PUSH  REFORMS.     RELIGION  SECONDARY.     TABLE 

BILL  OVER  $16,000.00  MONTHLY. 

(After  the  death  of  Julius  II.)  the  fifty  Cardinals  who 
went  into  conclave,  elected  the  young  Cardinal-deacon,  Gio- 
vanni dei  Medici,  now  in  the  thirty-eighth  year  of  his  age. 
(He  had  been  admitted  to  the  Cardinalate  when  he  was  four- 
teen years  old.)  —  Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  V., 
P. 


On  ascending  the  papal  throne,  March  19,  A.  D.   1513, 
(he)  took  the  name  Leo  X.  .  Leo  was  a  true  representative  of 


134  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

his  age.  An  ardent  admirer  of  classic  and  humane  culture, 
he  possessed  a  refined  taste,  had  a  love  of  elegant  literature, 
and  was  sincerely  devoted  to  the  arts  and  sciences.  But,  for 
all  this,  he  was  entirely  destitute  of  the  motives  and  spirit 
which  should  form  the  guiding  principles  in  the  life  of  an  ec- 
clesiastic, and  was,  moreover,  lavishly  extravagant.  .  .  The 
Vatican  became  the  resort  of  savans,  literati,  and  artists.  .  . 
The  work  of  the  Lateran  Council,  which  Louis  of  France  now 
acknowledged,  was  again  taken  up  where  it  had  been  left  off 
in  the  fifth  session,  on  the  death  of  Julius  II.  The  old  ques- 
tion of  reform  was  again  discussed  and  decrees  proposed 
which  provided  for  a  purer  morality  and  a  stricter  discipline  .  . 
abolished  the  practice  of  the  same  person  holding  several  ec- 
clesiastical benefices,  the  possession  of  which  would  require 
incompatible  duties ;  condemned  the  concubinage  of  the  clergy. 
.  .  .  These  salutary  measures  were  received  with  indifference. 
The  evil  had  grown  to  such  vast  dimensions  that  the  men  of 
that  age  lacked  the  nerve,  the  vigor,  and  the  determination  to 
look  it  steadily  in  the  face,  to  grapple  with  it,  and  to  persevere 
in  the  struggle  till  it  snould  have  been  crushed,  or  at  least 
rendered  harmless.  And,  of  all  the  men  of  his  time,  Leo  was 
perhaps  least  fitted,  either  by  nature  or  education,  to  under- 
take and  conduct  to  a  successful  issue  so  difficult  a  task. — Dr. 
Alzogs  Manual  of  Universal  Church  History,  Vol.  II. ,  pp. 
920,  921. 

To  artists  and  scholars  he  was  magnanimous,  noble,  and 
generous;  patronizing  them,  not  from  feelings  of  vanity,  but 
from  taste  and  conviction,  and  as  one  having  a  practical,  and 
thorough  knowledge  of  what  he  was  doing,  and  why  he  did  it. 
The  age  of  Augustus  seemed  to  have  again  dawned  upon 
Rome.  More  devoted  to  art  than  to  the  duties  of  his  offices — 
more  enamored  of  the  charms  of  elegant  literature  than  of  the 
chaste  beauty  of  Christian  virtue — Leo  pursued  toward  Luther 
a  policy  at  once  halting  and  ineffective.  Regarding  religion 
himself  as  a  matter  of  only  secondary  importance,  he  could 
but  ill  comprehend  how  others  should  bear  trials  for  its  sake, 
and  expose  themselves  to  countless  dangers  in  pushing  for- 
ward its  interests.  His  pontificate,  though  one  of  the  most 
brilliant,  was  by  no  means  the  most  happy,  in  the  history  of 
the  Church.  His  lavish  extravagance  occasioned  in  great 
part  the  disastrous  controversies  of  the  age,  and  was  a  source 
pf  no  little  embarrassment  to  his  successors  in  the  Papacy,  He 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  135 

died  December    i,    1521. — Dr.  Alzog's  Manual   of   Universal 
Church  History,  Vol.  III.,  pp.  43,  44. 

(Leo)  seemed  either  totally  oblivious  of,  or  entirely  dis- 
regarded the  decay  that  had  come  upon  every  branch  of  ec- 
clesiastical discipline,  and  which,  while  it  was  eating  into  and 
poisoning  the  very  life  of  the  Church,  was  no  uncertain  token 
of  the  sad  days  that  were  soon  to  follow. — Dr.  Alzog's  Man- 
ual of  Universal  Church  History,  Vol.  II. ,  p.  922. 

The  monthly  bill  for  the  table  of  Pope  Leo  X.,  the  suc- 
cessor of  Julius  II.,  was  8,000  ducats.  (See  Dr.  Pastor's  His- 
tory of  the  Popes,  Vol.  VI,  p.  223.)  Assuming  that  the  value 
of  the  ducat  was,  as  stated  by  the  Century  Dictionary,  about 
$2.30,  His  Holiness  spent  only  $18,400  per  month  for  some- 
thing to  eat  and  drink. 

INDULGENCES. 

Indulgences  were  often  a  source  of  graft  in  the  olden 
time,  and  they  are  a  prolific  source  of  gain  to  the  clerical  graft- 
ers of  our  day. 

Since  the  abuse  of  Indulgences  was  especially  horrible 
in  the  reign  of  Pope  Leo  X.,  I  deem  this  the  proper  place  to 
insert  quotations  upon  the  subject : 

One  Explanation  of  Decay  of  Spiritual  Life. 

The  decay  of  spiritual  life  is  inevitably  followed  by  a  re- 
laxation of  penitential  discipline.  The  abuse  consequent  up- 
on granting  indulgences  to  crusaders,  to  those  contributing 
to  the  building  of  St.  Peter  s  Church,  in  Rome,  and  to  others 
in  commutation  for  similar  works,  modified  the  rigors,  and 
eventually  wrought  the  complete  destruction  of  the  whole  pen- 
itentiary system.  To  the  earnest  zeal  of  the  early  Christian 
ages  succeeded  an  incorrigible  levity.  The  insolent  sarcasm 
of  sectaries,  which  grew  daily  more  violent  and  offensive,  tend- 
ed to  cool  the  ardor  for  penitential  practices ;  and  they  were 
largely  aided  in  their  work  by  the  lethargy  and  remissness  of 
many  of  the  clergy,  who,  instead  of  instructing  the  faithful, 
strengthening  the  weak,  and  encouraging  all  in  works  of  pen- 
ance, wholly  neglected  their  priestly  duties. — Dr.  Alzog's 
Manual  of  Universal  Church  History,  Vol.  II. }  pp.  1056, 


136  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

In  Connection  with  Jubilees. 

Plenary  indulgences  were  first  granted  to  the  Crusaders; 
next,  to  those  who  took  arms  against  seditious  heretics  and 
pagans  in  Northern  Europe ;  and,  finally,  to  places  of  pilgrim- 
age, and  to  those  who,  in  making  the  Jubilee,  complied  with 
the  prescribed  conditions.  The  Jubilee  of  the  Jews,  or  rather 
a  custom  analagous  to  it,  was  perpetuated  under  the  Christian 
dispensation,  and  during  the  closing  years  of  every  century 
an  extraordinary  throng  of  pilgrims  might  be  seen  in  Rome. 
Moved  by  the  recital  of  an  old  man,  aged  one  hundred  and 
seven  years,  who  said  he  remembered  that,  just  a  century  pre- 
vious, he  had  witnessed  similar  throngs  of  people  coming  to 
the  Holy  City,  Boniface  VIII. ,  in  1300,  granted  a  plenary  in- 
dulgence to  all  pilgrims  who  from  penitential  motives  should 
visit  the  churches  of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul.  Strangers  were 
required  to  make  these  visits  on  fifteen  and  the  Romans  on 
thirty  different  days  in  the  course  of  the  year.  On  this  oc- 
casion, two  hundred  thousand  pilgrims  gathered  about  the 
Holy  Father.  The  interval  between  one  Jubilee  and  another 
was  reduced  by  Clement  VI.  (1343)  to  fifty  years,  by  Urban 
VI.  (1389)  to  thirty-three,  and  by  Paul  II.  (1470)  to  twenty- 
five. 

The  venal  spirit  of  the  Romans  could  not  resist  the  temp- 
tation of  reaping  from  these  pious  gatherings  a  harvest  of 
sordid  gain. 

Alexander  of  Hales  is  the  author  of  the  doctrine  that  they 
are  drawn  from  the  superabundant  merits  of  Christ  and  His 
saints.  .  .  (He)  also  teaches  that,  by  the  power  of  the  Keys, 
indulgences  may  be  applied  by  the  Church  to  the  dead  as  well 
as  the  living — a  doctrine  which  St.  Thomas  Aquinas  establishes 
by  still  stronger  arguments. — Dr.  Alzog's  Manual  of  Uni- 
versal Church  History,  Vol.  II. ,  pp.  797-799- 

In  Relation  to  Pope  Nicholas  V .    Gold  the  Inspiration. 

The  restoration  of  peace  to  the  Church,  after  so  protract- 
ed a  period  of  conflict  and  confusion,  was  deemed  by  Nicholas 
V.  a  fitting  occasion  for  the  proclamation  of  a  Universal  Jubilee. 
.  .  The  obstacles  presented  by  the  war  in  Italy  and  the  pesti- 
lence which  followed,  were  not  sufficient  to  deter  the  Pope 
from  his  project,  and,  on  the  iQth  January,  1449,  in  pres- 
ence of  the  assembled  Cardinals,  he  solemnly  imparted  his 
benediction,  after  which  a  French  archbishop  read  aloud  the 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  137 

list  of  all  the  Jubilees  ever  celebrated  in  the  Church,  and  then 
proclaimed  the  new  one.  All  who,  during  a  given  time,  should 
daily  visit  the  four  principal  churches  of  Rome — St.  Peter's 
St.  Paul's,  the  Lateran  Basilica,  and  Sta.  Maria  Maggiore — 
and  confess  their  sins  with  contrition,  were  to  gain  a  plenary 
indulgence,  that  is  to  say,  remission  of  the  temporal  punish- 
ments due  for  those  sins  from  whose  guilt  and  eternal  punish- 
ment they  had  been  absolved. — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the 
Popes,  Vol.  II. ,  pp.  74,  75. 

As  early  as  the  summer  of  1447  the  plague  had  broken 
out  in  Venice,  and  before  long  it  had  spread  over  a  great  part 
of  Italy.  In  October  it  reached  Perugia,  where  it  raged  for 
several  years.  During  the  hot  season  of  1448  the  ravages 
of  the  malady  (called  Plague-sore),  were  terrible,  and  before 
the  end  of  the  year  it  had  visited  Rome.  In  1449  the  cry  of 
"  The  plague !  "  again  rose  from  city  after  city.  France  and 
Germany  also  suffered  severely.  But  throughout  the  whole 
of  the  fifteenth  century  the  destroying  angel  nowhere  found 
a  richer  harvest  than  on  the  blood-stained  soil  of  Italy. — Dr. 
Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  II.,  pp.  74,  75,  foot-notes. 

The  "  golden  year  "  opened  on  the  Christmas  Day  of  1449. 
The  concourse  was  immense.  Then  began  a  pilgrimage  of  the 
nations  to  the  Eternal  City,  like  that  which  had  taken  place  a 
century  before.  The  pilgrims  flocked  from  every  country  in 
Europe ;  there  were  Italians  and  "  Ultramontanes,"  men  and 
women,  rich  and  poor,  young  and  old,  healthy  and  sick.  As 
Augustinus  Dathus  says  in  his  history  of  Sienna,  "  Countless 
multitudes  of  Frenchmen,  Germans,  Spaniards,  Portuguese, 
Greeks,  Armenians,  Dalmatians  and  Italians  were  to  be  seen 
hastening  to  Rome."  .  .  An  eye-witness  likens  the  thronging 
multitudes  of  pilgrims  to  a  flight  of  starlings  or  a  swarm  of 
ants.  The  Pope  did  everything  in  his  power  to  render  their 
passage  through  Italy  easy  and  safe;  in  Rome  itself  he  made 
the  most  extensive  preparations,  and  especially  sought  to  se- 
cure an  adequate  supply  of  provisions.  But  the  pilgrims  ar- 
rived in  such  overwhelming  masses  that  all  his  efforts  proved 
insufficient.  .  .  Cristoforo  a  Soldo,  chronicler  of  the  city  of 
Brescia,  says,  "  A  greater  crowd  of  Christians  was  never  known 
to  hasten  to  any  Jubilee.  .  In  short  people  of  all  ranks  in 
Christendom  daily  arrived  in  such  multitudes  in  Rome  that 
there  were  millions  in  the  city.  And  this  continued  for  the 


138  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

whole  year,  excepting  in  the  summer,  jDn  account  of  the  plague, 
which  carried  off  innumerable  victims.  But  almost  as  soon 
as  it  abated  at  the  beginning  of  the  cold  season  the  influx  again 
commenced."  The  Roman  chronicler  Paoli  di  Benedetto  di  Co- 
la dello  Mastro  has  left  us  a  description  of  the  Jubilee.  .  "  I  rec- 
ollect," he  says,  "  that  even  in  the  beginning  of  the  Christmas 
month  a  great  many  people  came  to  Rome  for  the  Jubilee.  . 
Such  a  crowd  of  pilgrims  came  all  at  once  to  Rome  that  the 
mills  and  bakeries  were  quite  insufficient  to  provide  bread  for 
them.  And  the  number  of  pilgrims  daily  increased,  wherefore 
the  Pope  ordered  the  handkerchief  of  St.  Veronica  to  be  ex- 
posed every  Sunday,  and  the  heads  of  the  Apostles,  St.  Peter 
and  St.  Paul,  every  Saturday ;  the  other  relics  in  all  the  Roman 
churches  were  always  exposed.  The  Pope  solemnly  gave 
his  benediction  at  St.  Peter's  every  Sunday.  As  the  unceasing 
influx  of  the  faithful  made  the  want  of  the  most  necessary 
means  of  subsistence  to  be  more  and  more  pressing,  the  Pope 
granted  a  plenary  indulgence  to  each  pilgrim  on  condition  of 
contrite  confession  and  of  visits  to  the  churches  on  three  days. 
This  great  concourse  of  pilgrims  continued  from  Christmas 
through  the  whole  month  of  January,  and  then  diminished  so 
considerably  that  the  innkeepers  were  discontented,  and  every 
one  thought  it  was  at  an  end,  when,  in  the  middle  of  Lent,  such 
a  great  multitude  of  pilgrims  again  appeared,  that  in  the  fine 
weather  all  the  vineyards  were  filled  with  them,  and  they  could 
not  find  sleeping-place  elsewhere.  .  At  night  many  of  the  pil- 
grims were  to  be  seen  sleeping  beneath  the  porticos,  while  oth- 
ers wandered  about  in  search  of  missing  fathers,  sons  or  com- 
panions; it  was  pitiful  to  see  them.  And  this  went  on  until 
the  Feast  of  the  Ascension,  when  the  multitudes  of  pilgrims 
again  diminished,  because  the  plague  came  to  Rome.  Many 
people  then  died,  especially  many  of  these  pilgrims;  all  the 
hospitals  and  churches  were  full  of  the  sick  and  dying,  and 
they  were  to  be  seen  in  the  infected  streets  falling  down  like 
dogs.  Of  those  who  with  great  difficulty,  scorched  with  heat 
and  covered  with  dust,  departed  from  Rome,  a  countless  num- 
ber fell  a  sacrifice  to  the  terrible  pestilence,  and  graves  were 
to  be  seen  all  along  the  roads  even  in  Tuscany  and  Lombardy." 
— Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  II. ,  pp.  76-78,  83,  84. 

"  The  court  of  Rome,"  writes  the  envoy  of  the  Teutonic 
Order,  "  is  sadly  scattered  and  put  to  flight ;  in  fact,  there  is 
no  Court  left.  One  man  embarks  for  Catalonia,  another  for 


"BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  139 

Spain,  everyone  is  looking  for  a  place  where  he  may  take  ref- 
uge. Cardinals,  bishops,  abbots,  monks,  and  all  sorts  of  peo- 
ple, without  exception,  flee  from  Rome  as  the  apostles  fled 
from  our  Lord  on  Good  Friday.  Our  Holy  Father  also  left 
Rome  on  the  I5th  July,  retreating  from  the  pestilence.  .  .  His 
Holiness  goes  from  one  castle  to  another,  with  a  little  Court 
and  very  few  attendants,  trying  if  he  can  find  a  healthy  place 
anywhere.  He  has  now  moved  to  a  castle  called  Fabriano, 
in  which  he  spent  some  time  last  year,  and  has,  it  is  said,  for- 
bidden, under  pain  of  excommunication,  loss  of  preferment  and 
of  Papal  favour,  that  any  one  who  has  been  in  Rome,  what- 
ever his  rank,  should  come  within  seven  miles  of  him,  save 
only  the  Cardinals,  a  few  of  whom,  with  four  servants,  have 
gone  to  the  said  castle  and  are  living  there."  Even  in  the 
previous  year  the  Pope  had,  on  the  outbreak  of  the  plague, 
fled  from  Rome  with  some  few  members  of  the  Court  and 
gone  first  to  the  neighborhood  of  Rieti,  and  then  to  the  castle 
of  Spoleto,  whence  he  was  driven  by  the  malady.  .  Poggio 
mockingly  declared  that  the  Pope  wandered  about  after  the 
manner  of  the  Scythians. — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes, 
Vol.  II. ,  pp.  86,  87. 

When  the  pestilence  ceased  with  the  first  cold  of  winter 
the  Pope  returned  to  Rome.  Pilgrims  again  began  to  pour 
in.  .  .  "  So  many  people  came  to  Rome,"  according  to  an  eye- 
witness, "  that  the  city  could  not  contain  the  strangers,  al- 
though every  house  became  an  inn.  Pilgrims  begged,  for  the 
love  of  God,  to  be  taken  in  on  payment  .  .  of  a  good  price,  but 
it  was  not  possible.  They  had  to  spend  the  nights  out  of  doors. 
Many  perished  from  cold;  it  was  dreadful  to  see.  Still  such 
multitudes  thronged  together  that  the  city  was  actually  fam- 
ished. .  If  you  wanted  to  go  to  St.  Peter's  it  was  impossible 
on  account  of  the  masses  of  men  that  filled  the  streets.  .  .  All 
Rome  was  filled  so  that  one  could  not  go  through  the  streets." 
— Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  II. }  pp.  88,  89. 

"  Perhaps,"  says  the  chronicle  of  Forli,  "  it  may  have  Been 
in  order  to  moderate  the  Pope's  joy  at  the  unwonted  and  ex- 
traordinary concourse  of  pilgrims,  and  to  preserve  him  from 
pride,  that  an  event  was  fated  to  occur  which  caused  him  the 
deepest  sorrow."  A  very  beautiful  German  lady  of  rank,  who 
had  undertaken  the  pilgrimage  to  Rome,  was,  in  the  district 
of  Verona,  set  upon  and  carried  away  by  soldiers.  Sigismondo 


I4O  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

Malatesta  of  Rimini  was  generally  looked  upon  as  the  instigator 
of  this  crime,  which  caused  great  excitement  in  Italy,  but  not- 
withstanding the  careful  inquiries  at  once  set  on  foot  by  the 
Venetians,  the  mystery  was  never  cleared  up.  The  disaster 
was  all  the  more  distressing  to  the  Pope,  inasmuch  as  it  was 
calculated  to  deter  many  rich  and  distinguished  personages 
from  setting  forth  on  a  journey  which  was  already  deemed  in 
itself  most  perilous. — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol. 
II-,  PP-  95>  p6 

"  Immense  sums  of  money  poured  into  Rome  during  the 
Jubilee  Year,  especially  at  its  beginning  and  at  its  close,  when 
the  concourse  of  pilgrims  was  greatest.  A  chronicler  mentions 
four  classes  as  chiefly  benefited:  First,  the  money-changers; 
secondly,  the  apothecaries;  thirdly,  the  .artists  who  painted 
copies  of  the  holy  handkerchief ;  and  fourthly,  the  inn-keepers. 
.  .  .  On  this  occasion,  as.  in  previous  Jubilees,  the  pilgrims 
brought  an  immense  number  of  offerings.  Manetti,  the  Pope's 
biographer,  says  that  an  exceedingly  large  quantity  of  silver 
and  gold  found  its  way  into  the  treasury  of  the  Church,  and 
Vespasiano  da  Bisticci  tells  us  that  Nicholas  V.  was  able  to 
deposit  a  hundred  thousand  golden  florins  in  the  bank  of  the 
Medici  alone.  From  the  chronicle  of  Perugia  we  learn  that 
money  was  dear  at  this  time,  and  could  only  with  difficulty 
be  obtained,  because  "  it  all  flowed  into  Rome  for  the  Jubilee." 
The  Pope  thus  became  possessed  of  the  resources  necessary  for 
his  great  schemes,  the  promotion  of  art  and  learning;  the  poor 
also  had  a  share  of  the  wealth. — Dr.  Pastor's  Plistory  of  the 
Popes,  Vol.  II. ,  p.  102. 

The  experience  of  all  Christian  ages  has  shown  that  pil- 
grimages of  clergy  and  laity  to  the  tombs  of  the  Apostles  at 
Rome  are  a  most  effectual  means  of  elevating  and  strengthen- 
ing the  Catholic  life  of  nations,  and  of  uniting  them  more 
closely  to  the  Holy  See.  (Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes, 
Vol.  II.,  p.  103). 

I  will  leave  it  to  my  readers  to  reconcile  the  last  with  the 
two  following  quotations  from  Dr.  Pastor : 

The  concourse  of  Jubilee  pilgrims,  which  commenced  on 
Christmas  Day  (1474)  did  not  at  first  equal  the  expectations 
entertained.  .  .  Respect  for  the  clergy  had  been  much  shaken 
by  former  experiences. — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes, 
Vol.  IV.,  p.  280. 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  14! 

Of  Italian  pilgrims  one  of  the  most  notable  was  Elizabetta 
Gonzaga.  .  .  She  went  incognito  (to  Rome  during  the  Jubi- 
lee of  Pope  Alexander  VI.  in  1500)  with  one  or  two  attend- 
ants, and  only  remained  a  few  days,  merely  long  enough  to 
gain  the  Indulgence.  This  lady,  and  numbers  of  other  women, 
were  only  brought  to  Rome — where  they  must  have  seen  so 
much  to  grieve  them — by  genuine  piety.  What  the  German 
knight,  A.  von  Harff,  thought,  in  the  year  1497,  °f  the  Rome 
of  the  Borgias  has  already  been  told.  A  similar  impression 
is  conveyed  in  the  words  of  a  Rhinelander  who  had  been  in 
Cardinal  Briconnet's  service,  retailed  by  Vettori.  "  If  you  ask 
me  why  I  left  Rome,  I  answer  that  we  Rhinelanders  are  good 
Christians,  and  have  read  and  heard  that  the  Christian  faith 
has  been  founded  on  the  blood  of  the  martyrs,  and  good 
morals  and  many  miracles,  so  that  it  would  be  impossible  for 
any  one  who  lived  here  to  become  an  unbeliever.  But  I  spent 
several  years  in  Rome  and  saw  the  lives  led  by  the  Prelates 
and  dignitaries,  and  had  I  staid  there  any  longer  I  should  have 
been  in  danger  not  only  of  losing  my  faith,  but  of  becoming 
an  Epicurean  and  doubting  the  immortality  of  my  soul." — Dr. 
Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  VI.,  p.  151. 

IN  RELATION  TO  POPE  ALEXANDER  VI.    GOLD  AGAIN./ 

Receipts  from  the  Jubilee  .  .  Sigismondo  says,  former 
Popes  such  as  Nicholas  V.  and  Sixtus  V.  .  .  employed  in  re- 
storing and  adorning  the  churches  of  Rome.  .  .  In  December 
(1500)  the  Jubilee  in  Rome  was  prolonged  until  the  Feast  of 
the  Epiphany  and  extended  first  to  the  whole  of  Italy,  and 
then  to  the  whole  of  Christendom.  According  to  these  Bulls, 
all  Christians  living  at  a  distance  from  Rome  might,  in  the  fol- 
lowing year,  gain  the  great  Indulgence  without  visiting  the 
city,  by  fulfilling  certain  conditions  and  paying  a  certain  sum. 
The  Pope  left  all  moneys  collected  in  Venetian  territory  in 
the  hands  of  the  Republic  for  the  war  against  the  Turks.  The 
same  thing  was  done  in  Poland,  though  there  the  money  was 
not  employed  for  the  purpose  specified.  In  Italy,  Caesar 
(Borgia,  son  of  Pope  Alexander  VI.)  had  the  effrontery  to 
appropriate  the  jubilee  moneys  on  his  own  authority.  The 
Florentine  historian  Nardi  relates  how  his  emissaries  ap- 
peared in  Florence  and  demanded  the  money  in  the  Jubilee 
chest,  "  to  enable  him  to  pay  the  soldiers  who  were  plundering 
us,  and  it  was  no  small  sum,"  The  knowledge  that  these  things 


142  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

were  done  goes  a  good  way  towards  explaining  the  resistance 
which  those  who  were  .  commissioned  to  preach  the  Jubilee 
Indulgences  met  with  in  Switzerland  as  well  as  in  Germany. 
Cardinal  Peraudi  had  to  put  up  with  all  sorts  of  harassing 
restrictions  in  the  (German)  empire,  and  to  undertake  that  all 
the  money  there  collected  should  be  handed  over  untouched  to 
the  administration  for  the  Crusade. — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of 
the  Popes,  Vol.  VI.,  pp.  152-154. 

INDULGENCE  GRAFT  AND  LUTHER. 

Dr.  Pastor  will,  perhaps,  treat  at  length  the  subject  of 
Indulgences  in  his  forthcoming  volumes ;  I  wish  they  were  now 
in  print.  He  has  already  said,  and  I  have  just  quoted  it,  "  Ac- 
cording to  these  Bulls,  all  Christians  living  at  a  distance  from 
Rome  might,  in  the  following  year,  gain  the  great  Indulgence 
without  visiting  the  city,  by  fulfilling  certain  conditions  and 
paying  a  certain  sum."  The  gravest  abuses  characterized  the 
procuring  of  Indulgences,  and  the  handling  of  the  receipts. 
Dr.  Pastor  himself  says,  and  I  have  already  so  quoted  him, 
that  certain  Jubilee  or  Indulgence  moneys  were  misappro- 
priated, and  that  "  the  knowledge  that  these  things  were  done 
goes  a  good  way  towards  explaining  the  resistance  which 
those  who  were  commissioned  to  preach  the  Jubilee  Indul- 
gence met  with  in  Switzerland  as  well  as  in  Germany."  (See 
again  Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  VI.,  pp.  152- 
154).  Let' us  see  what  Catholic  historians  have  to  say  on  our 
present  topic! 

It  was  at  this  time  (about  1512)  that  Indulgences  were 
published  in  Germany  by  the  authority  of  the  munificent  and 
splendid  Leo.  X.,  the  proceeds  of  which  were  to  be  applied 
to  the  building  of  St.  Peter's  Basilica  in  Rome,  commenced 
by  Julius  II.  The  office  of  publishing  the  indulgences  was 
given  to  the  Elector  Albert,  a  prince  of  the  house  of  Branden- 
burg, Archbishop  of  Mentz  and  Madgeburg,  and  administra- 
tor of  the  diocese  of  Halberstadt,  who  was  as  extravagant 
and  as  fond  of  magnificent  displays  as  Leo  himself.  Albert 
selected  the  Dominican  Tetzel  of  Leipsic  to  preach  the  indul- 
gences to  the  people  of  his  diocese.  A  ripe  scholar  and  a  fine 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  143 

popular  speaker,  Tetzel  proclaimed  the  efficacy  of  indulgences 
in  language  at  once  ardent  and  energetic,  which  while  at 
times  sufficiently  offensive  to  call  forth  expressions  of  hostility 
against  both  the  man  and  his  mission,  was  by  no  means  so  in- 
temperate or  extravagant  as  his  enemies  would  have  us  be- 
lieve. As  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  authorities  had  but  re- 
cently enacted  measures  restricting  the  sale  of  indulgences, 
the  recent  publication  of  them  gave  no  little  offense.  In  the 
year  1500,  the  electoral  princes  entered  a  protest  against  their 
publication,  and  enacted  in  1510  that  sums  of  money  arising 
from  this  source  should  not  be  sent  out  of  the  country.  The 
emperor  Maximilian  was  at  special  pains  to  see  that  the  latter 
provision  was  faithfully  executed.  John,  Bishop  of  Meissen, 
had  also  issued  a  prohibition,  cautioning  any  one  in  his  dio- 
cese against  receiving  the  preachers  of  indulgences;  and  a 
similar  prohibition  had  been  published  in  the  diocese  of  Con- 
stance. Luther,  therefore,  was  not  the  first  to  protest  against 
the  flagrant  abuses  incident  to  putting  indulgences  on  sale ; 
but  had  he  been,  no  blame  could  have  attached  to  him,  for 
he  would  have  been  only  exercising  a  right  which  he  had  in 
virtue  of  his  offices  of  preacher,  confessor,  and  doctor  of  the- 
ology. So  also,  when,  by  the  advice  of  his  friends,  he  affixed 
his  famous  ninety-five  propositions  to  the  doors  of  the  church 
attached  to  the  castle  of  Wittenberg,  on  the  Vigil  of  All  Saints 
(October  31,  1517),  he  did  no  more  than  what  was  sanctioned 
by  the  usage  of  that  age.  It  would  seem  that  he  might  claim 
the  greater  right  to  do  so,  inasmuch  as  he  openly  proclaimed 
the  doctrine  of  indulgences,  saying  in  his  seventy-first  proposi- 
tion :  "  Whosoever  speaks  against  the  truths  of  papal  indul- 
gences, let  him  he  anathema ;  "  and  protested  that  it  was  not 
his  wish  or  purpose  to  say  aught  against  Holy  Writ  or  the 
teachings  of  the  Popes  and  the  Fathers  of  the  Church.  No 
fault,  therefore,  could  be  found  with  him  for  having  de- 
nounced whatever  was  really  extravagant  and  excessive  in 
the  preaching  of  indulgences,  and  for  having  called  for  some 
authoritative  settlement  of  the  question,  of  which,  as  he  after- 
ward confessed,  "  he  knew  no  more  at  that  time  than  those 
who  came  to  inquire  of  him."  That  he  was  sadly  in  need  of 
some  elementary  instruction  on  the  nature  of  indulgences, 
their  conditions  and  effects,  is  painfully  evident  from  the 
grotesque  character  and  intemperate  language  of  many  of 
his  propositions.  In  his  twenty-ninth  proposition  Luther  asks : 


144  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

"  Who  knows  if  every  soul  would  desire  to  be  delivered  from 
purgatory  ?  "  Again,  in  his  eighty-second  :  "  Why  does  not 
the  Pope,  since  he  may  open  heaven  to  so  many  for  a  few 
wretched  florins,  of  his  sacred  charity  empty  purgatory  of 
the  suffering  souls  confined  there  ?  "  —  Dr.  Alzog's  Manual 
of  Universal  Church  History,  Vol.  III.,  pp. 


The  great  applause  that  greeted  the  appearance  of  Luther's 
propositions  revealed  the  intense  indignation  everywhere 
evoked  by  the  abuse  of  indulgences.  Within  the  short  in- 
terval of  two  months,  they  were  known  in  almost  every  coun- 
try of  Europe.  —  Dr.  Alzog's  Manual  of  Universal  Church 
History,  Vol.  III.,  pp.  14,  15. 

That  no  one  might  have  a  pretext  to  plead  ignorance  of 
the  true  teaching  of  the  Roman  Church  on  indulgences,  Leo, 
in  a  bull  issued  November  9,  1518,  and  beginning  Cum  post- 
quam,  gave  the  fullest  instruction  on  the  doctrine,  and  threat- 
ened such  as  should  gainsay  it  with  excommunication  latce 
sententic?.  About  the  same  time,  the  Pope  sent  the  accom- 
plished Saxon,  Charles  of  Militz,  to  Germany,  for  the  two- 
fold purpose  of  decorating  the  Elector  Frederic  with  the 
golden  rose  and  the  securing  him  in  the  interest  of  the  Holy 
See;  and  of  restraining  Luther  by  peaceful  measures  until 
such  time  as  the  German  bishops  should  have  put  an  end  to 
the  quarrel.  The  Apostolic  nuncio  while  traveling  through 
Germany  heard  much  complaint  of  the  evil  effects  of  Tetzel's 
preaching,  and  in  consequence  sharply  rebuked  the  Dominican 
for  indiscreet  zeal.  Tetzel  took  the  reprimand  so  much  to 
heart  that  he  withdrew  to  a  monastery,  fell  sick,  and  died,  it 
is  said,  of  grief,  July  14,  1519.  —  Dr.  Alzog's  Manual  of  Uni- 
versal Church  History,  Vol.  III.,  pp.  20,  21. 

The  bull  "  Exsurge  Domine  et  judica  causam  tuam"  was 
issued  June  15,  1520,  in  which  forty-one  propositions,  ex- 
tracted from  the  writings  of  Luther,  were  condemned,  his 
works  ordered  to  be  burnt  wherever  found,  and  he  himself  ex- 
communicated if  he  should  not  have  retracted  at  the  expira- 
tion of  sixty  days.  The  Pope  exhorted  and  prayed  him  and 
his  followers  by  the  Blood  of  Christ,  shed  for  the  redemption 
of  man  and  the  foundation  of  the  Church,  to  cease  to  disturb 
the  peace  of  the  spouse  of  Christ,  to  destroy  her  unity,  and 
outrage  her  sacred  and  unchangeable  truths.  But  should  he 
disregard  these  entreaties,  refuse  to  avail  himself  of  this  pater- 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  145 

nal  kindness  and  tenderness,  and  persist  in  his  errors,  he  was 
declared  excommunicate,  liable  to  the  penalties  attached  to 
the  crime  of  heresy,  and  all  Christian  princes  were  instructed 
to  apprehend  him  and  send  him  to  Rome.  The  execution  of 
this  Bull  was  given  to  the  Papal  Legates,  Carraccioli  and  Ale- 
andro,  and  to  these  Dr.  Eck  was  joined.  That  one  like  Eck, 
holding  no  superior  rank  as  a  churchman,  should  have  been 
made  a  member  of  this  commission  of  itself  gave  no  little  of- 
fense. But  apart  from  this,  he  had  been  and  was  still  Luther's 
most  formidable  and  implacable  enemy;  and  he  was  now  the 
bearer  of  his  sentence. — Dr.,  Alzog's  Manual  of  Universal 
Church  History,  Vol.  III.,  p.  jj. 

The  Elector  of  Saxony,  who  had  come  as  far  as  the  Rhine 
to  welcome  the  Emperor  on  his  arrival,  had  a  conference  with 
Erasmus  ("the  guest  of  popes  and  princes")  at  Cologne,  in 
the  course  of  which  the  latter  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  Lu- 
ther's fault  chiefly  consisted  in  his  having  aimed  a  blow  at 
the  tiara  of  the  Pope  and  the  bellies  of  the  monks. — Dr.  Al- 
zog's Manual  of  Universal  Church  History,  Vol.  111.,  p.  35. 

Luther,  now  spurning  papal  prohibitions,  and  notably  that 
of  Paul  II.  in  the  bull  Exsecrabilis,  and  without  waiting  for 
an  answer  from  Leo,  appealed  (November  17,  1520),  on  the 
authority  of  the  decrees  of  Constance,  declaring  a  Council 
superior  to  the  Pope,  from  the  Holy  See  to  an  Ecumenical 
Synod;  after  having  previously  published  on  the  4th  of  the 
same  month  his  violent  protest  "  Against  the  Execrable  Bull 
of  Antichrist."  Not  content  with  these  bold  and  aggressive 
acts,  he  went  still  further,  and  on  December  10,  1520,  having 
called  together  the  students  of  the  University  and  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Wittenberg  at  the  Elster  or  Eastern  Gate  of  the  city, 
where  fagots  had  been  heaped  up,  ready  to  set  fire  to,  he  ap- 
peared bearing  the  bull  of  Leo,  printed  in  characters  large 
enough  to  be  seen  by  all  present.  The  Body  of  Canon  Law, 
many  scholastic  and  casuistical  works,  the  controversial  writ- 
ings of  Eck  and  Emser,  were  first  cast  into  the  flames,  after 
which  Luther  flung  the  Pope's  bull  into  the  pile,  exclaiming: 
"  Thou  hast  disturbed  the  Lord's  Holy  One,  therefore  shalt 
thou  be  consigned  to  fire  eternal."  .  .  On  the  following  day 
he  addressed  the  students  saying :  "  It  is  now  full  time  that 
the  Pope  himself  were  burned.  My  meaning  is  that  the  Papal 
Chair,  its  false  teachings  and  abominations,  should  be  com- 
mitted to  the  flames."  The  Emperor,  sensible  that  matters 


146  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

were  going  from  bad  to  worse,  convoked  his  first  diet  at 
Worms. — Dr.  Alsog's  Manual  of  Universal  Church  History, 
Vol.  III.,  p.  36. 

The  Emperor  had  at  first  intended  to  summon  Luther  be- 
fore the  diet.  Aleandro  (Papal  Legate)  objected,  because  to 
submit  to  the  discussion  of  a  secular  court  questions  which 
had  been  already  disposed  of  by  the  Holy  See  and  their  author 
excommunicated,  he  regarded  as  disgraceful.  .  He  demanded 
that  the  provisions  of  the  bull  against  Luther  should  be  fully 
carried  out  (January  3,  1521).  .  .  The  States,  however,  re- 
fused to  yield  to  Aleandro's  demand;  for  having  themselves 
brought  forward  one  hundred  and  one  grievances  touching 
abuses  in  ecclesiastical  affairs,  they  were  unwilling  to  con- 
demn Luther  without  a  hearing.  Moreover,  George,  Duke  of 
Saxony,  a  determined  enemy  of  Luther's,  brought  before  the 
diet  twelve  specific  complaints,  including  some  against  the 
abuse  of  indulgences  and  the  lax  morals  of  the  clergy.  He 
also  strenuously  advocated  the  holding  of  an  Ecumenical  Coun- 
cil.— Dr.  Alsog's  Manual  of  Universal  Church  History,  Vol. 
III.,  p.  37. 

Luther  went  before  the  imperial  diet  (at  Worms),  where 
the  Emperor  was  present,  on  the  I7th  and  i8th  of  April 
(1521).  On  the  former  of  these  days,  John  von  Eck,  Chan- 
cellor to  the  Archbishop  of  Treves  (and  a  member  of  the  papal 
commission),  pointing  to  close  upon  twenty  volumes  placed 
upon  a  table  near  by,  asked  Luther,  first,  if  he  acknowledged 
himself  the  author  of  these  writings  published  under  his  name ; 
and,  secondly,  if  he  was  willing  to  retract  the  teachings  con- 
tained therein.  After  hearing  the  titles  of  the  books  read, 
Luther,  in  answer  to  the  first  question,  admitted  their  author- 
ship, but  requested  time  for  consideration  before  answering 
the  second.  A  day  was  given  him  to  prepare  his  reply,  and 
on  the  morrow  the  Chancellor  again  asked  him  if  he  would 
retract.  Luther  was  evasive.  The  Chancellor  pressed  for  a 
categorical  answer.  "  Will  you  or  will  you  not  retract  ?  "  said 
he,  addressing  him.  Luther  replied :  "  Inasmuch  as  it  is  cer- 
tain that  both  Popes  and  Councils  have  time  and  again  fallen 
into  error,  and  denied  at  one  time  what  they  had  affirmed  at 
another,  I  can  not  bring  myself  to  put  faith  in  them.  My  con- 
science is  captive  to  the  words  of  God,  and  unless  I  shall  be 
convicted  of  error  by  Scripture  proof  or  by  plain  reason,  I 


UOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  147 

neither  can  nor  will  retract  anything.  God  help  me.  Amen." 
.  .  On  the  26th  of  May  when  many  of  the  States  had  already, 
as  it  seemed  unadvisedly,  withdrawn  from  the  diet,  an  im- 
perial decree  drawn  up  by  Aleandro,  and  dated  May  8th,  plac- 
ing Luther  under  the  ban  of  the  Empire,  was  signed  by  the 
Emperor,  and  officially  promulgated.  .  The  decree  command- 
ed all  persons,  under  severe  penalties,  to  refuse  hospitality  to 
Luther;  to  seize  his  person,  and  deliver  him  up  to  the  officers 
of  the  Empire,  and  to  commit  his  writings  to  the  flames.  .  It 
was  now  very  generally  believed  that  there  was  an  end  of  the 
heresy;  that  the  last  act  of  the  tragedy  had  been  performed, 
but  a  few  far-seeing  men  thought  otherwise,  and  predicted 
that  the  storm,  far  from  having  spent  itself,  was  still  gathering 
strength.  "  There  is,  as  some  think,  an  end  of  the  tragedy," 
wrote  the  Spanish  courtier,  Alphonso  Valdez,  to  his  friend 
Peter  Martyr,  "  but  as  for  myself  I  am  fully  convinced  that 
the  play  is  only  opening,  for  the  Germans  are  highly  incensed 
against  the  Holy  See."  .  .  .  The  edict  of  Worms  was  feebly 
executed  if  at  all.  It  was  coldly  received  by  the  representa- 
tives of  the  States  of  Germany,  who  had  been  industriously 
taught  to  believe  that  this  theological  quarrel  was  no  more 
than  a  struggle  against  Rome,  in  the  destruction  of  whose 
claims  they  fancied  they  saw  the  realization  of  wild  dreams 
and  delusive  hopes.  (Foot-note)  :  When  the  Papal  Legate, 
Chieregati,  remarked  that  if  Hungary  should  be  lost,  Germany 
would  also  pass  under  the  yoke  of  the  Turk,  the  malcontents 
replied :  "  We  had  much  rather  be  under  the  Turk  than  under 
you,  who  are  the  last  and  greatest  of  God's  enemies,  and  are 
the  very  slave  of  abomination." — Dr.  Alzog's  Manual  of  Uni- 
versal Church  History,  Vol.  III.,  pp.  38,  40,  41. 

On  "  The  General  Causes  of  the  Rapid  Spread  of  Protes- 
tantism" Dr.  Alzog  says,  among  other  things: 

Luther's  efforts  received  a  color  of  recognition  and  sup- 
port from  the  serious  complaints  which  had  been  made  in  gen- 
eral councils,  with  a  view  to  the  correction  of  existing  abuses. 
Many  well-meaning  bishops  had  spoken  out  in  no  faltering 
terms  against  abuses  of  every  kind,  and  chiefly  against  those 
of  indulgences;  and  hence  when  Luther  reechoed  their  lan- 
guage, he  was  listened  to  with  approval. — Dr.  Alzog s  Man- 
ual of  Universal  Church  History,  Vol.  III.,  pp.  291,  292. 


148  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

(Germany  was)  abandoned  to  the  heresy  of  Luther  chiefly 
through  the  ignorance  and  immorality  of  the  clergy. — History 
of  St.,  Ignatius  De  Loyola,  founder  of  the  Jesuits,  by  Father 
Daniel  Bartoli,  Vol.  11.,  p.  369. 

HADRIAN  VI.,  1523-1534. 

The  Reverse  of  Leo  X.     Sincerely  Religious.     Admits  Cor- 
ruption of  Priests,  Prelates  and  Popes.    Inaugurates  Re- 
forms.    Assails   Luther.     German   States    List    101 
Grievances  against  Rome.    Poisoned? 

The  character  of  Hadrian  was  quite  the  reverse  of  that 
of  his  predecessor,  Leo  X.  Sincerely  and  deeply  religious,  a 
true  priest,  of  simple  tastes  and  grave  manners,  he  had  in  a 
certain  sense  a  horror  of  the  art  treasures  of  ancient  Rome, 
regarding  them  as  in  a  measure  tending  to  revive  the  idols  of 
paganism.  His  dislike  of  them,  which  was  emphatic  and  out- 
spoken, gave  great  offense  to  the  Romans,  who,  besides  taking 
an  enthusiastic  pride  in  the  reign  of  Leo  X.,  had  financial  rea- 
sons for  encouraging  the  love  of  pagan  art  which  that  reign 
had  called  forth.  The  oft-repeated  words  of  Hadrian,  that 
"  he  would  have  priests  for  the  adornment  of  churches, 
not  churches  for  the  adornment  of  priests,"  expressed  a  line 
of  action  with  which  the  Romans  had  little  or  no  sympathy. 
The  growing  discontent  reached  its  height  when  the  Pope, 
through  his  legate,  Chieregati,  Bishop  of  Teramo,  publicly 
proclaimed  at  the  Diet  of  Number g,  that,  "  impelled  alike  by 
inclination  and  duty,  he  would  put  forth  his  best  energies  to 
bring  about  all  needful  reforms,  beginning  with  the  papal 
household,  the  primary  source  of  the  evils  afflicting  the  Church, 
to  the  end,  that,  as  corruption  had  infected  high  and  low,  all 
might  mend  their  lives,  and  make  sure  their  salvation."  But 
while  thus  frankly  avowing  the  faults  of  the  papacy,  and  prom- 
ising the  correction  of  these  and  other  abuses,  the  Pope  soon 
learned  that  it  was  not  in  his  power  to  hasten  the  march  of 
events,  or  to  shorten  the  time  necessary  to  such  a  work.  Ful- 
ly persuaded  that  only  the  ignorant  could  be  led  astray  by  the 
crude  and  irrational  teachings  of  Luther,  and  that  the  revolt 
against  the  old  faith  was  to  be  mainly  ascribed  to  the  burdens 
and  hardships  endured  by  the  bulk  of  the  people,  he  enter- 
tained the  hope  that  this  frank  avowal  of  the  existence  of  evil 
and  the  promise  of  its  correction,  coming  from  the  common 
father  of  Christendom,  would  have  the  effect  of  allaying  popu- 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  1 49 

lar  discontent,  of  conciliating  and  inspiring  confidence  in  the 
minds  of  all.  In  this  frame  of  mind  he  pressed  the  Diet  to 
take  prompt  and  vigorous  measures  against  Luther,  "  For," 
said  he,  with  prophetic  foresight,  "  the  revolt,  now  directed 
against  the  spiritual  authority,  will  shortly  deal  a  blow  at  the 
temporal  also."  The  words  of  the  Pontiff  were  ill  received 
by  the  Diet,  and  his  warning  unheeded;  his  frank  avowal  of 
the  shortcomings  of  the  papacy  gave  occasion  to  exhibitions 
of  unseemly  triumph,  and  his  promise  of  reform  was  inter- 
preted as  an  acceptance  of  defeat.  The  hundred  and  one 
grievances  against  the  Holy  See  were  again  taken  up ;  and  the 
convocation  of  an  ecumenical  council,  to  convene  in  some  city 
in  Germany,  imperiously  demanded;  which  should,  in  the  first 
instance,  provide  for  the  general  well-being  of  the  Church, 
and,  this  accomplished,  settle  the  Lutheran  controversy.  Thus 
far,  said  the  assembled  States,  it  has  been  found  impossible 
to  enforce  the  edict  placing  Luther  under  the  ban  of  the  Em- 
pire, from  fear  of  a  popular  insurrection.  However,  they  fal- 
teringly  added,  every  effort  will  be  put  forth  to  prevent  the 
propagation,  either  orally  or  in  writing,  of  the  new  doctrines, 
until  such  time  as  the  council  shall  have  convened;  and  to 
sustain  the  authority  of  such  bishops  as  shall  punish  married 
ecclesiastics  with  canonical  penalties.  The  Nuncio,  clearly 
perceiving  that  the  temper  of  the  States  was  hostile  to  Rome, 
and  mortified  at  the  ill  success  of  his  mission,  withdrew  from 
the  Diet;  and  Hadrian,  equally  cognizant  of  their  sinister  de- 
signs, gave  expression  to  his  sorrow  in  words  of  reproachful 
tenderness,  in  which,  while  laying  bare  the  deep  and  intense 
grief  that  crushed  his  paternal  heart,  he  seemed  to  take  upon 
himself  the  responsibility  of  all  the  faults  committed  by  his 
predecessors.  Hadrian,  however,  did  more  than  utter  words 
of  complaint.  Desirous  of  putting  an  end  to  the  system  of 
wasteful  extravagance  that  had  grown  up  under  his  prede- 
cessors, he  dismissed  a  large  number  of  useless  functionaries, 
thereby  exciting  against  himself  a  spirit  of  intense  hostility. 
To  add  to  the  bitterness  of  his  grief  he  learned  that  his  ef- 
forts to  defend  the  island  of  Rhodes  (December  25,  1522) 
against  the  assaults  of  the  Turks,  had  proved  unsuccessful. 
The  disastrous  issue  of  all  his  most  cherished  projects  was  too 
much  for  the  tender  heart  of  the  holy  Pontiff,  and  he  grad- 
ually sunk  under  the  weight  of  accumulated  sorrows.  "  How 
sad,"  said  he  in  his  last  moments,  "  is  the  condition  of  a  Pope 


150  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

who  would  do  good  but  can  not."  On  the  very  day  of  his 
death  (September  14,  1523),  the  Romans  gave  expression  to 
unseemly  joy,  in  a  coarse  inscription  placed  above  the  dooi 
of  his  attending  physician.  (Dr.  Alzog  omits  giving  this 
inscription.)  (Foot-note:)  The  epitaph  composed  by  his 
friends,  and  inscribed  on  his  tomb,  does  him  justice:  "Here 
lies  Hadrian  VI.,  who  held  that  to  rule  is  the  greatest  of  mis- 
fortunes."— Dr.  Alzog's  Manual  of  Universal  Church  His- 
tory, Vol.  III.,  pp.  44-47. 

The  inscription  placed  above  the  physician's  door  was 
this :  "  Td  the  liberator  of  his  country."  Did  the  physician 
poison  the  good  Pope,  Hadrian  VI.? 

PAUL  III.,  1534-1549. 
Trafficked  in  his  Sister's  Shame. 

(His  sister  was  a  mistress  of  Pope  Alexander  VI.) 
Rumors  of  this  scandalous  connection  penetrated  into  Ger- 
many; and,  later,  it  came  to  be  so  universally  believed  that 
Paul  III.  was  openly  taunted  with  the  way  in  which  his  Car- 
dinalate  had  come  to  him. — Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes, 
Vol.  V.,  pp.  416-418. 

In  other  words,  Paul  III.  secured  his  Cardinal's  hat  by 
winking  at  his  sister's  adultery  with  Pope  Alexander  VI. 

In  1538  the  Pope,  Paul  the  Third,  published  a  bull  of  ex- 
communication and  deposition  against  Henry  the  Eighth. — 
Green's  History  of  the  English  People,  Vol.  II.,  p.  194. 

Henry  the  Eighth  was  the  King  of  England  under  whom 
the  Protestant  Church  of  England  came  into  existence.  He 
had  written  a  bitter  attack  upon  Martin  Luther,  and  for  this 
service  he  received  from  Pope  Leo  X.  the  title  "  Defender  of 
the  Faith."  At  a  later  time  he  determined  to  divorce  his 
Queen,  Catherine  of  Aragon,  and  marry  Anne  Boleyn,  but  the 
Holy  See  would  not  dissolve  the  marriage.  The  King  would 
not  abandon  his  purpose,  and  out  of  this  clash  came  the  separa- 
tion of  the  English  nation  from  the  See  of  Rome,  and  the 
formation  of  the  Church  of  England. 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION. 

Catholic  writers  never  tire  of  asserting  that  the  Church  of 
England  owes  its  origin  to  the  adultery  of  Henry  the  Eighth, 
who  was  excommunicated  by  Paul  III.,  but  they  are  discreetly 
silent  about  the  fact  that  Paul  III.  obtained  his  ecclesiastical 
preferment  by  winking  at  his  own  sister's  adultery  with  Pope 
Alexander  VI. 

INNOCENT  X.,  1644-1655. 
Lady  Olympia. 

There  was  another  and  more  serious  subject  of  complaint 
against  Innocent,  namely,  the  influence  which,  it  was  well 
known,  Olympia  Maldachina,  his  brother's  widow,  exercised 
in  the  affairs  of  the  Church.  While  it  is  a  fact,  admitted  on 
all  hands,  that  his  morals  were  above  reproach,  his  conduct 
in  this  particular  cannot  be  wholly  excused. — Dr.  Alzog's 
Manual  of  Universal  Church  History,  Vol.  III.,  p.  368. 

It  is  not  "  admitted  on  all  hands  that  his  morals  were 
above  reproach." 

ALEXANDER  VII.,  1655-1667. 
Nepotism.     Extravagance. 

He  called  his  grasping  relations  to  Rome,  and  when  he 
appeared  in  public  it  was  with  a  pomp  and  splendor  such  as 
had  never  before  been  witnessed  or  even  thought  of  in  that 
city  of  magnificent  displays.  .  .  Alexander  erected  many  mag- 
nificent structures,  which  largely  contributed  to  the  embellish- 
ment of  Rome.  .  The  costliness  of  these  and  other  improve- 
ments, together  with  the  rapacity  of  his  relatives,  exhausted 
his  resources,  and  led  to  financial  embarrassment. — Dr.  Alzogs 
Manual  of  Universal  Church  History,  Vol.  ///.,  pp.  479,  481. 

ALEXANDER  VIII.,  1689-1691. 
Nepotism. 

The  memory  of  Alexander  has  unfortunately  suffered 
much  from  the  misconduct  of  his  nephews,  to  whom,  on  ac- 
count of  his  advanced  age,  he  allowed  a  large  share  in  the 
government.— Dr.  Alsog's  Manual  of  Universal  Church  His- 
tory, Vol.  III.,  p. 


152  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

BENEDICT  XIII.,  1724-1730. 
A  Reforming  Pope.     Clerical  Corruption. 

Shortly  after  his  election  he  published  various  sumptuary 
regulations,  restricting  the  luxurious  habits  of  the  cardinals, 
prescribing  modesty  of  dress  to  the  clergy,  etc.  A  council 
convoked  by  him  in  the  Lateran  palace  (1725)  made  many 
wise  enactments  for  the  suppression  of  scandals  and  abuses.  . 
Benedict  was  unfortunate  in  taking  into  his  confidence  Car- 
dinal Coscia,  by  whose  simulated  piety  he  was  deceived,  arid 
by  whose  abuse  of  power  and  influence  the  Church  wras  dis- 
honored and  he  himself  enriched.  —  Dr.  Alzog's  Manual  of 
Universal  Church  History,  Vol.  UL,  pp.  487,  488. 

BENEDICT  XIV.,  1740-1758. 
Disordered  Finances. 

He  at  once  applied  himself  to  restore  the  finances  from  the 
disordered  condition  into  which  they  had  fallen,  owing  to  the 
extravagance  into  which  Benedict  XIII.  had  been  driven  by 
Cardinal  Coscia,  and  the  enormous  sums  expended  by  Clement 
XII.  on  public  buildings.  —  Dr.,  Alzog's  Manual  of  Universal 
Church  History,  Vol.  III.,  p. 


Pius  IX.,  1846-1878. 
An  Infidel  Secretary  of  State. 

Cardinal  Antonelli  was  Secretary  of  State  for  Pius  IX. 
When  he  was  dying  he  refused  the  sacraments,  saying  that 
he  never  believed  in  their  efficacy.  He  said  he  had  served  the 
Pope  faithfully  in  his  official  capacity,  but  that  he  did  not  be- 
lieve in  the  spiritual  powers  claimed  by  the  Church. 

After  his  death  his  wife  and  children  came  forward  and 
claimed  his  estate  and  got  it. 

Pius  X.,  1903— 
The  Cardinals. 

In  The  Catholic  Citizen,  published  at  Milwaukee,  Wis- 
consin, in  its  issue  of  July  16,  1904,  appeared  the  following 
on  its  front  page: 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  153 

CARDINALS'  INCOME  CUT. 

Ever  since  he  succeeded  the  late  Pope  Leo,  Pius  X.  has 
tried  to  cut  down  the  expenses  of  the  Holy  See,  a  policy  which 
has  made  him  anything  but  popular  amongst  the  cardinals  of 
Rome. 

A  few  days  ago  he  announced  his  intention  of  cutting  off 
an  annual  amount  of  23,000  francs  which  it  had  been  custom- 
ary to  pay  to  every  cardinal  residing  in  Rome.  The  majority 
of  these  cardinals  have  various  other  sources  of  income  besides 
their  residences,  which  are  paid  for  by  the  Church. 

Pope  Pius  X.  now  intends  to  have  all  the  cardinals  reside 
in  the  Vatican  proper,  where  there  is  ample  room,  and  in  this 
way  save  the  high  rental  which  now  has  to  be  paid  for  man- 
sions for  the  cardinals  in  the  city  of  Rome. 

Several  of  the  cardinals  are  protesting  against  this,  and 
say  that  it  would  not  be  proper  for  them  all  to  live  in  the  same 
building,  as  it  would  detract  from  their  dignity,  and  also  ob- 
ject to  the  cutting  down  of  their  income. 

A  very  prominent  cardinal  said :  "  It  costs  about  35,000 
francs  to  be  made  a  cardinal,  and  many  a  cardinal  has  died 
without  succeeding  in  paying  off  debts  which  he  has  incurred 
to  meet  this  expense." 

The  above,  it  will  be  noted,  is  from  a  Catholic  authority. 
Why  should  it  cost  "  35,000  francs  (about  $8,000.00)  to  be 
made  a  cardinal  "  ?  Why  should  they  live  in  mansions  and  not 
in  the  Vatican?  Why  should  they  object  to  cutting  down  the 
expenses  of  the  Holy  See? 

Many  of  the  Princes  of  the  Church  to-day  "are  best  de- 
scribed in  the  words  used  by  Dr.  Alzog,  the  great  Catholic 
historian,  concerning  prelates  of  an  olden  time: 

They  are  vain  and  arrogant  courtiers,  lovers  of  fine  liv- 
ing and  pompous  display,  and  much  given  to  usury ;  they  make 
their  faith  subservient  to  schemes  of  worldly  wealth  and  am- 
bition, and  entirely  neglect  the  care  of  their  churches;  they 
visit  the  great  ones  of  the  world  and  the  wealthy,  but  seldom 
the  poor  and  the  lowly;  they  have  neither  simplicity,  love  of 
God,  nor  chastity,  and  the  celebration  of  Holy  Mass  and  the 
preaching  of  the  Word  of  God  have  ceased  to  be  objects  of 
their  solicitude;  in  short,  their  entire  life  is  one  uninterrupted 


154  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

scandal.  —  Dr.  Alzog's  Manual  of  Universal  Church  History, 
Vol.  II.,  p. 


THE    VATICAN    ASSAILS    AMERICANISMS 

The  Declaration  of  American  Independence  asserts  hu- 
man equality  :  Rome  denies  it.  The  Constitution  of  the  Unit- 
ed States  proclaims  the  sovereignty  of  the  people;  it  prohibits 
any  union  of  Church  and  State  ;  and  it  guarantees  freedom  of 
conscience,  freedom  of  speech  and  freedom  of  the  press.  Rome 
repudiates  the  sovereignty  of  the  people;  She  demands  the 
union  of  Church  and  State,  and  proclaims  Herself  to  be  the 
Church  to  the  exclusion  of  all  others  ;  and  she  condemns  free- 
dom of  conscience,  freedom  of  speech  and  freedom  of  the 
press.  The  non-sectarian  public  school  has  become  an  Amer- 
ican institution,  and  is  championed  by  the  vast  majority  of 
the  American  people.  "  The  little  red  schoolhouse  "  represents 
an  Americanism  just  as  much  as  any  one  of  the  constitutional 
provisions  which  I  have  named.  Rome  condemns  the  non- 
sectarian  school  and  asserts  that  the  control  of  the  education 
of  the  nation's  youth  belongs  solely  to  Her.  The  United 
States  Constitution  has  been  regarded  by  the  fathers  and  build- 
ers of  American  institutions  as  a  priceless  document,  and  not 
only  a  boon  to  Americans  but  a  blessing  to  mankind  :  Rome 
condemns  liberties  which  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States 
guarantees.  Does  the  parochial  school  teach  these  American- 
isms or  Vaticanisms? 

'If  it  teaches  these  Americanisms  it  is  false  to  Rome:  if  it 
teaches  these  Vaticanisms  it  is  false  to  America. 

That  my  readers  may  see  that  I  am  not  misstating  these 
Americanisms  or  Vaticanisms  I  now  show  the  former  by  ex- 
cerpts from  the  charters  of  American  liberties,  recognized 
American  history,  and  the  most  solemn  declarations  of  each 
occupant  of  the  American  Presidential  Chair;  and  the  latter 
by  excerpts  from  the  Encyclical  Letters  of  Leo  XIII. 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  155 

AMERICANISMS. 
Human  Equality1. 

I  quote  the  following  from  the  Declaration*  of  American 
Independence: 

We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident,  that  all  men  are 
created  equal;  that  they  are  endowed  by  their  Creator  with 
certain  inalienable  rights ;  that  among  these  are  life,  liberty, 
and  the  pursuit  of  happiness ;  that  to  secure  these  rights  gov- 
ernments are  instituted  among  men,  deriving  their  just  powers 
from  the  consent  of  the. governed.  (Ridpath's  History  of  the 
United  States,  1889,  p.  736.) 

The  great  American  historian,  George  Bancroft,  honored 
at  his  death  by  the  half-masting  of  "  the  flags  of  all  the  Execu- 
tive Departments  at  Washington,"  "  as  an  expression  of  the 
public  loss  and  sorrow,"  and  called  by  the  President  "  One  of 
the  most  distinguished  Americans,"  as  appears  from  page  164, 
volume  IX  of  the  "  Messages  and  Papers  of  the  Presidents/' 
has  this  to  say  about  the  Declaration  of  Independence : 

This  immortal  state  paper  was  "the  genuine  effusion  of 
the  soul  of  the  country  at  that  time,"  the  revelation  of  its  mind, 
when,  in  its  youth,  its  enthusiasm,  its  sublime  confronting  of 
danger,  it  rose  to  the  highest  creative  powers  of  which  man  is' 
capable.  The  bill  of  rights  which  it  promulgates  is  of  rights 
that  are  older  than  human  institutions,  and  spring  from  the 
eternal  justice.  Two  political  theories  divided  the  world:  one 
founded  the  commonwealth  on  the  advantage  of  the  state,  the 
policy  of  expediency,  the  other  on  the  immutable  principles 
of  morals ;  the  new  republic,  as  it  took  its  place  among  the 
powers  of  the  world  proclaimed  its  faith  in  the  truth  and  reali- 
ty and  unchangeableness  of  freedom,  virtue  and  right.  The 
heart  of  Jefferson  in  writing  the  declaration,  and  of  congress 
in  adopting  it,  beat  for  all  humanity ;  the  assertion  of  right  was 
made  for  the  entire  world  of  mankind  and  all  coming  genera- 
tions, without  any  exception  whatever ;  for  the  proposition 
which  admits  of  exceptions  can  never  be  self-evident.  (Ban- 
croft's History  of  the  United  States,  Vol.  IV,  p.  450.) 


156  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

The  Sovereignty  of  the  People. 

I  quote  as  follows  from  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States: 

We,  the  People  of  the  United  States,  in  order  to  form 
a  more  perfect  union,  establish  justice,  insure  domestic  tran- 
quility,  provide  for  the  common  defence,  promote  the  general 
welfare,  and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty  to  ourselves  and  our 
posterity,  do  ordain  and  establish  this  constitution  for  the 
United  States  of  North  America.  (Ridpath's  History  of  the 
United  States,  p.  745). 

Freedom  of  Conscience,  Speech  and  Press. 

The  First  Amendment  to  the  Constitution  reads  as  fol- 
lows: 

Congress  shall  make  no  law  respecting  an  establishment 
of  religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof ;  or  abridg- 
ing the  freedom  of  speech  or  of  the  press ;  or  the  right  of  the 
people  peaceably  to  assemble,  and  to  petition  the  government 
for  a  redress  of  grievances.  (Id.  p.  753.) 

This  Amendment  was  ratified  December  15,  1791,  but  a 
few  months  following  the  ratification  of  the  Constitution  it- 
self by  the  several  States. 

This  is  what  Rev.  P.  A.  Baart,  a  Roman  Catholic  canon- 
ist and  author,  says  in  his  "  Tenure  of  Catholic  Church  Prop- 
erty in  the  United  States  of  America: " 

Section  19.  Each  of  the  thirteen  colonies,  before  the 
revolution  of  1776,  recognized  some  form  of  Protestantism 
as  its  state  church,  and  several  levied  taxes  for  the  support 
of  the  authorized  worship.  To  prevent  contention,  the  con- 
stitution of  the  United  States,  in  its  first  amendment,  pro- 
hibits the  recognition  of  a  state  religion,  though  it  intends  that 
all  forms  of  Christianity  shall  be  protected  from  disturbance 
in  worship  and  in  property.  Because  of  this  constitutional 
prohibition,  the  government  of  the  United  States  does  not 
recognize  the  Catholic  Church  as  such,  nor  can  the'  Church 
as  such  become  incorporated. 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  1 57 

History  of  the  Establishment  of  Freedom  of  Conscience  in 

America. 

In  the  History  of  the  United  States  by  George  Bancroft, 
"  the  author's  last  revision,"  1888,  there  is  a  special  chapter 
on  the  "  Constitution  of  the  States."  Each  American  State, 
of  course,  has  its  own  Constitution,  which  embodies  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  Constitution  of  the  Federal  Government,  or  con- 
tains nothing  antagonistic  to  them.  In  his  history  Mr.  Ban- 
croft writes  concerning  the  Constitutions  of  our  original 
States.  He  says: 

For  more  than  two  centuries  the  humbler  Protestant 
sects  had  sent  up  the  cry  to  heaven  for  freedom  to  worship 
God.  To  the  panting  for  this  freedom  half  the  American 
states  owed  their  existence,  and  all  but  one  or  two  their  in- 
crease in  free  population.  The*  immense  majority  of  the  in- 
habitants of  the  thirteen  colonies  were  Protestant  dissenters; 
and,  from  end  to  end  of  their  continent,  from  the  rivers  of 
Maine  and  the  hills  of  New  Hampshire  to  the  mountain  val- 
leys of  Tennessee  and  the  borders  of  Georgia,  one  voice  called 
to  the  other  that  there  should  be  no  connection  of  the  Church 
with  the  State,  no  establishment  of  any  one  form  of  religion  by 
the  civil  power ;  that  "  all  men  have  a  natural  and  unalienable 
right  to  worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  their  own  con- 
sciences and  understandings."  With  this  great  idea  the  colonies 
had  travailed  for  a  century  and  a  half ;  and  now,  not  as  revolu- 
tionary, not  as  destructive,  but  simply  as  giving  utterance  to 
the  thought  of  the  nation,  the  states  stood  up  in  succession,  in 
the  presence  of  one  another  and  before  God  and  the  world, 
to  bear  their  witness  in  favor  of  restoring  independence  to 
conscience  and  the  mind.  The  establishment  of  liberty  of  con- 
science, which  brought  with  it  liberty  of  .speech  and  of  the 
press,  was,  in  the  several  states,  the  fruit  not  of  philosophy, 
but  of  the  love  of  Protestantism  for  the  open  (Bible).  .  .  But 
from  the  beginning  the  Church  no  longer  formed  a  part  of  the 
State ;  and  religion,  ceasing  to  be  a  servant  of  the  government 
or  an  instrument  of  dominion,  became  a  life  in  the  soul.  Pub- 
lic worship  was  voluntarily  sustained.  Nowhere,  was  perse- 
cution for  religious  opinion  so  nearly  at  an  end  as  in  America, 
and  nowhere  was  there  so  religious  a  people.  (Bancroft's 
History  of  the  United  States,  Vol.  V.,  pp.  119-122.) 


158  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

'AMERICANISMS   ENUNCIATED    BY   ALL    OF    THE 
AMERICAN    PRESIDENTS. 

From  the  beginning  of  our  Government  until  the  present 
year  (1904)  twenty-five  different  men  have  filled  the  Presi- 
dential Chair. 

They  each  entered  ^upon  the  discharge  of  the  grave  duties 
of  the  Chief  Magistracy  under  the  sanction  of  a  solemn  oath 
to  support  and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the  Nation.  Their 
messages  to  Congress  and  proclamations  abound  in  references 
to  fundamental  Americanisms.  From  this  long  line  of  dis- 
tinguished American  patriots,  I  quote: 

GEORGE  WASHINGTON,  "  the  Father  of  his  Country," — presi- 
dent 1789-1797. 

Resist  any  Innovation  upon  American  Principles. 

Toward  the  preservation  of  your  Government  and  the 
permanency  of  your  present  happy  state,  it  is  requisite  not  only 
that  you  steadily  discountenance  irregular  oppositions  to  its 
acknowledged  authority,  but  also  that  you  resist  with  care  the 
spirit  of  innovation  upon  its  principles,  however  specious  the 
pretext.  One  method  of  assault  may  be  to  effect  in  the  forms 
of  the  Constitution  alterations  which  will  impair  the  energy 
of  the  system,  and  thus  to  undermine  what  cannot  be  directly 
overthrown.  (Messages  and  Papers  of  the  Presidents,  Vol. 
L,  p.  218.) 

JOHN  ADAMS,  second  president,  1797-1801. 
Venerates  the  Constitution. 

I  first  saw  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  in  a 
foreign  country.  Irritated  by  no  literary  altercation,  animated 
by  no  public  debate,  heated  by  no  party  animosity,  I  read  it 
with  great  satisfaction,  as  the  result  of  good  heads  prompted 
by  good  hearts,  as  an  experiment  better  adapted  to  the  genius, 
character,  situation,  and  relations  of  this  nation  and  country 
than  any  which  had  ever  been  proposed  or  suggested.  (Id. 
Vol.  L,  p.  229.) 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  159 

THOMAS  JEFFERSON,  third  president,  1801-1809,  and  the  idol 
of  the  Democratic  Party. 

Freedom  of  Conscience  and  Press. 

(He  enumerates  what  he  deems  the  essential  principles 
of  our  government,  and  in  the  list  are)  the  diffusion  of  in- 
formation and  arraignment  of  all  abuses  at  the  bar  of  the 
public  reason;  freedom  of  religion;  freedom  of  the  press.  .  . 
These  principles  form  the  bright  constellation  which  has  gone 
before  us  and  guided  our  steps  through  an  age  of  revolution 
and  reformation.  The  wisdom  of  our  sages  and  the  blood  of 
our  heroes  have  been  devoted  to  their  attainment.  They  should 
be  the  creed  of  our  political  faith,  the  text  of  civic  instruction, 
the  touch-stone  by  which  to  try  the  services  of  those  we  trust ; 
and  should  we  wander  from  them  in  moments  of  error  or 
alarm,  let  us  hasten  to  retrace  our  steps  and  to  regain  the  road 
which  alone  leads  to  peace,  liberty  and  safety.  (Id.  Vol.  I., 
PP- 323,  324.) 

JAMES  MADISON,  fourth  president,  1809-1817. 
Free  Conscience  and  Free  Press. 

To  support  the  Constitution,  which  is  the  cement  of  the 
Union,  as  well  in  its  limitations  as  in  its  authorities ;  .  .  to 
avoid  the  slightest  interference  with  the  rights  of  conscience 
or  the  functions  of  religion,  so  wisely  exempted  from  civil 
jurisdiction;  to  preserve  in  their  full  energy  the  other  salu- 
tary provisions  in  behalf  of  private  and  personal  rights,  and 
of  the  freedom  of  the  press;  .  .  to  favor  the  advancement  of 
science  and  the  diffusion  of  information  as  the  best  aliment 
to  true  liberty — as  far  as  sentiments  and  intentions  such  as 
these  can  aid  the  fulfillment  of  my  duty,  they  will  be  a  re- 
source which  cannot  fail  me.  (Id.  VoL  I.,  pp.  467,  468.) 

JAMES  MONROE,  fifth  president,  1817-1825, —  the  author  of  the 
"  Monroe  Doctrine." 

Equality.    Sovereignty  of  the  People. 

In  this  great  nation  there  is  but  one  order,  that  of  the 
people,  whose  power,  by  a  peculiarly  happy  improvement  of 
the  representative  principle,  is  transferred  from  them,  with- 
out impairing  in  the  slightest  degree  their  sovereignty,  to 


160  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

bodies  of  their  own  creation,  and  to  persons  elected  by  them- 
selves, in  the  full  extent  necessary  for  all  the  purposes  of  free, 
enlightened,  and  efficient  government.  (Id.  Vol.  II.,  p.  93.) 

JOHN  QUINCY  ADAMS,  sixth  president,  1825-1829. 
No  Union  of  Church  and  State. 

In  1825,  referring  to  the  Congress  of  American  nations 
to  be  assembled  at  Panama,  he  wrote : 

There  is  yet  another  subject  upon  which,  without  enter- 
ing into  any  treaty,  the  moral  influence  of  the  United  States 
may  perhaps  be  exerted  with  beneficial  consequences  at  such 
a  meeting — the  advancement  of  religious  liberty.  Some  of  the 
southern  nations  are  even  yet  so  far  under  the  dominion  of 
prejudice  that  they  have  incorporated  with  their  political  con- 
stitutions an  exclusive  church  (the  Roman  Catholic),  with- 
out toleration  of  any  other  than  the  dominant  sect.  The  aban- 
donment of  this  last  badge  of  religious  bigotry  and  oppres- 
sion may  be  pressed  more  effectually  by  the  united  exertions 
of  those  who  concur  in  the  principles  of  freedom  of  conscience 
upon  those  who  are  yet  to  be  convinced  of  their  justice  and 
wisdom  than  by  the  solitary  efforts  of  a  minister  to  any  one  of 
the  separate  Governments.  (Id.  Vol.  II.,  p.  319.) 

ANDREW  JACKSON,  seventh  president,  1829-1837. 
Free  Conscience  and  Free  Press. 

As  long  as  our  government  is  administered  for  the  good 
of  the  people,  and  is  regulated  by  their  will ;  as  long  as  it 
secures  to  us  the  rights  of  person  and  of  property,  liberty  of 
conscience  and  of  the  press,  it  will  be  worth  defending.  (Id. 
Vol.  II.,  p.  438.) 

MARTIN  VAN!>UREN,  eighth  president,  1837-1841. 
The  People  the  Source  of  Power.     Church  and  State. 

The  national  will  is  the  supreme  law  of  the  republic.  (Id. 
Vol.  III.,  p.  380.) 

It  was  reserved  for  the  American  Union  to  test  the  ad- 
vantages of  a  government  entirely  dependent  on  the  contin- 
ual exercise  of  the  popular  will,  and  our  experience  has  shown 
that  it  is  as  beneficent  in  practice  as  it  is  just  in  theory.  .  . 
In  no  country  has  education  been  so  widely  diffused.  .  .  All 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  l6l 

forms  of  religion  have  united  for  the  first  time  to  diffuse  char- 
ity and  piety,  because  for  the  first  time  in  the  history  of  na- 
tions all  have  been  totally  untrammeled  and  absolutely  free. 
(Id.  Vol.  III.,  p.  484.) 

WILLIAM    HENRY    HARRISON,    ninth   president,    March   4  to 
April  4,  1841. 

No  Government  by  Divine  Right.     Free  Conscience,  Speech 

and  Press. 

The  broad  foundation  upon  which  our  Constitution  rests 
being  the  people — a  breath  of  their's  having  made,  as  a  breath 
can  unmake,  change,  or  modify  it — it  can  be  assigned  to  none 
of  the  great  divisions  of  government  but  to  that  of  democracy. 
.  .  We  admit  of  no  government  by  divine  right,  believing  that 
so  far  as  power  is  concerned  the  Beneficent  Creator  has  made 
no  distinction  amongst  men ;  that  all  are  upon  an  equality, 
and  that  the  only  legitimate  right  to  govern  is  an  express 
grant  of  power  from  the  governed.  .  .  The  boasted  privilege 
of  a  Roman  citizen  was  to  him  a  shield  only  against  a  petty 
provincial  ruler.  .  .  Far  different  is  the  power  of  our  sover- 
eignty. It  can  interfere  with  no  one's  faith,  prescribe  forms 
of  worship  for  no  one's  observance,  inflict  no  punishment  but 
after  well-ascertained  guilt  undej:  rules  prescribed  by  the  Con- 
stitution itself.  These  precious  privileges,  and  those  scarcely 
less  important  of  giving  expression  to  his  thoughts  and  opin- 
ions, either  by  writing  or  speaking,  unrestrained  but  by  the 
liability  for  injury  to  others,  and  that  of  a  full  participation 
in  all  the  advantages  which  flow  from  the  Government,  the 
acknowledged  property  of  all,  the  American  citizen  derives 
from  no  charter  granted  by  his  fellow-man. 

The  maxim  which  our  ancestors  derived  from  the  mother 
country  that  "  freedom  of  the  press  is  the  great  bulwark  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty  "  is  one  of  the  most  precious  legacies 
which  they  have  left  us.  (Id.  Vol.  IV.,  pp.  6-20.) 

JOHN  TYLER,  tenth  president,  1841-1845. 

Popular  Sovereignty.    Foreigners  Must  Become  Americanised. 
Personal  Liberties. 

The  institutions  under  which  we  live,  my  countrymen, 
secure  each  person  in  the  perfect  enjoyment  of  all  his  rights. 


1 62  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

The  spectacle  is  exhibited  to  the  world  of  a  government  de- 
riving its  powers  from  consent  of  the  governed  and  having 
imparted  to  it  only  so  much  power  as  is  necessary  for  its  suc- 
cessful operations.  (Id.  Vol.  IV.,  p.  39.) 

The  census  recently  taken  shows  .  .  our  numbers  .  .  al- 
ready exceed  17,000,000.  .  .  We  hold  out  to  the  people  of 
other  countries  an  invitation  to  come  and  settle  among  us  as 
members  of  our  rapidly  growing  family,  and  for  the  blessings 
which  we  offer  them  we  require  of  them  to  look  upon  our 
country  as  their  country  and  to  unite  with  us  in  the  great  task 
of  preserving  our  institutions  and  thereby  perpetuating  our 
liberties.  (Id.  Vol.  IV.,  p.  41.) 

A  sacred  observance  of  the  guaranties  of  the  Constitu- 
tion will  preserve  union  on  a  foundation  which  can  not  be 
shaken,  while  personal  liberty  is  placed  beyond  hazard  of 
jeopardy.  The  guaranty  of  religious  freedom,  of  the  freedom 
of  the  press,  of  the  liberty  of  speech,  of  the  trial  by  jury,  of 
the  habeas  corpus,  .  .  these  are  the  great  and  important  guar- 
anties of  the  Constitution  which  the  lovers  of  liberty  must 
cherish  and  the  advocates  of  union  must  ever  cultivate.  (Id. 
Vol.  IV.,  p.  336.) 

JAMES  K.  POLK,  eleventh  president,   1845-1849. 
Equality.     Freedom  of  Conscience.     A   Treason  to  Mankind. 

The  inestimable  value  of  our  Federal  Union  is  felt  and 
acknowledged  by  all.  By  this  system  of  united  and  confed- 
erated States  our  people  are  permitted  collectively  and  indi- 
vidually to  seek  their  own  happiness  in  their  own  way,  and 
the  consequences  have  been  most  auspicious.  .  Multitudes 
from  the  old  world  are  flocking  to  our  shores  to  participate 
in  its  blessings.  Beneath  its  benign  sway  peace  and  pros- 
perity prevail.  .  All  distinctions  of  birth  or  of  rank  have  been 
abolished.  All  citizens,  whether  native  or  adopted,  are  placed 
upon  terms  of  precise  equality.  All  are  entitled  to  equal  rights 
and  equal  protection.  No  union  exists  between  church  and 
state,  and  perfect  freedom  of  opinion  is  guaranteed  to  all  sects 
and  creeds.  .  Who  shall  assign  limits  to  the  achievements  of 
free  minds  and  free  hands  under  the  protection  of  this  glor- 
ious Union  ?  No  treason  to  mankind  since  the  organization  of 
society  would  be  equal  in  atrocity  to  that  of  him  who  would 
lift  his  hand  to  destroy  it,  (Id,  Vol  IV.,  pp.  375,  376.) 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  163 

ZACHARIAH  TAYLOR,  twelfth  president,  1849-1850. 
Most  Stable  Government  on  Earth. 

I  this  day  renew  the  declarations  I  have  heretofore  made 
and  proclaim  my  fixed  determination  to  maintain  to  the  extent 
of  my  ability  the  Government  in  its  original  purity  and  to 
adopt  as  the  basis  of  my  public  policy  those  great  republican 
doctrines  which  constitute  the  strength  of  our  national  ex- 
istence. (Id.  Vol.  V.,  p.  5.) 

Sixty  years  have  elapsed  since  the  establishment  of  this 
Government,  and  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  again 
assembles  to  legislate  for  an  empire  of  freemen.  The  pre- 
dictions of  evil  prophets,  who  formerly  pretended  to  foretell 
the  downfall  of  our  institutions,  are  now  remembered  only 
to  be  derided,  and  the  United  States  of  America  at  this  mo- 
ment present  to  the  world  the  most  stable  and  permanent 
Government  on  earth.  ( (Id.  Vol.  V.,  p.  9.) 

MILLARD  FILLMORE,  thirteenth  president,  1850-1853. 
Common  Schools.     Constitution  the  Best  ever  Formed. 

We  live  in  an  age  of  progress,  and  ours  is  emphatically 
a  country  of  progress.  .  .  The  whole  country  is  full  of  enter- 
prise. Our  common  schools  are  diffusing  intelligence  among 
the  people  and  our  industry  is  fast  accumulating  the  com- 
forts and  luxuries  of  life.  This  is  in  part  owing  to  our  pecu- 
liar position.  .  but  much  of  it  is  also  owing  to  the  popular  in- 
stitutions under  which  we  live.  (Id.  Vol.  V.,  p.  181.) 

Our  Constitution,  though  not  perfect,  is  doubtless  the  best 
that  ever  was  formed.  Therefore  let  every  proposition  to 
change  it  be  well  weighed  and,  if  found  beneficial,  cautiously 
adopted.  Every  patriot  will  rejoice  to  see  its  authority  so  ex- 
erted as  to  advance  the  prosperity  and  honor  of  the  nation, 
whilst  he  will  watch  with  jealousy  any  attempt  to  mutilate 
this  charter  o£  our  liberties  or  pervert  its  powers  to  acts  of 
aggression  or  injustice.  (Id.  Vol.  V.,  p.  182.) 

FRANKLIN  PIERCE,  fourteenth  president,  1853-1857. 
America,  a  Beacon  Light  to  the  World. 

It  is  no  paradox  to  say  that  although  comparatively  weak 
the  new-born  nation  was  intrinsically  strong.  ,  .  The  op- 


164  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

pressed  throughout  the  world  from  thaf  day  to  the  present 
have  turned  their  eyes  hitherward,  not  to  find  those  lights 
extinguished  or  to  fear  lest  they  should  wane,  but  to  be  con- 
stantly cheered  by  their  steady  and  increasing  radiance.  In 
this  our  country  has,  in  my  judgment,  thus  far  fulfilled  its 
highest  duty  to  suffering  humanity.  It  has  spoken  and  will 
continue  to  speak,  not  only  by  its  words,  but  by  its  acts,  the 
language  of  sympathy,  encouragement,  and  hope  to  those  who 
earnestly  listen  to  tones  which  pronounce  for  the  largest 
rational  liberty.  (Id.  Vol.  V.,  pp.  197,  198.) 

JAMES  BUCHANAN,  fifteenth  president,  1857-1861. 
Richest  Political  Blessings  Heaven  Ever  Bestowed. 

Convinced  that  I  owe  my  election  to  the  inherent  love  for 
the  Constitution  and  the  Union  which  still  animates  the  hearts 
of  the  American  people,  let  me  earnestly  ask  their  powerful 
support  in  sustaining  all  just  measures  calculated  to  perpet- 
uate these,  the  richest  political  blessings  which  Heaven  has 
ever  bestowed  upon  any  nation.  (Id.  Vol.  V.,  pp.  430,  431.) 

ABRAHAM  LINCOLN,  "  the  Savior  of  his  Country,"  sixteenth 
president,  1861-1865. 

America's  Free  Institutions. 

It  may  be  affirmed  without  extravagance  that  the  free 
institutions  we  enjoy  have  developed  the  powers  and  improved 
the  conditions  of  our  whole  people  beyond  any  example  in 
the  world.  Of  this  we  now  have  a  striking  and  an  impressive 
illustration.  So  large  an  army  as  the  Government  has  now  on 
foot  was  never  before  known  without  a  soldier  in  it  but  who 
•had  taken  his  place  there  of  his  own  free  choice.  But  more 
than  this,  there  are  many  single  regiments  whose  members, 
one  and  another,  possess  full  practical  knowledge  of  all  the 
arts,  sciences,  professions,  and  whatever  else,  whether  use- 
ful or  elegant,  is  known  in  the  world ;  and  there  is  scarcely 
one  from  which  there  could  not  be  selected  a  President,  a 
Cabinet,  a  Congress,  and  perhaps  a  court,  abundantly  com- 
petent to  -administer  the  Government  itself.  Nor  do  I  say  this 
is  not  true  also  in  the  army  of  our  late  friends,  now  adver- 
saries in  this  contest;  but  if  it  is,  so  much  better  the  reason 
why  the  Government  which  has  conferred  such  benefits  on 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  165 

both  them  and  us  should  not  be  broken  up.  Whoever  in  any 
section  proposes  to  abandon  such  a  government  would  do  well 
to  consider  in  deference  to  what  principle  it  is  that  he  does  it ; 
what  better  he  is  likely  to  get  in  its  stead;  whether  the  sub- 
stitute will  give,  or  be  intended  to  give,  so  much  of  good  to 
the  people.  There  are  some  foreshadowings  on  this  subject. 
Our  adversaries  have  adopted  some  declarations  of  indepen- 
dence, in  which,  unlike  the  good  old  one  penned  by  Jefferson, 
they  omit  the  words  "  all  men  are  created  equal."  Why  ? 
They  have  adopted  a  temporary  national  constitution,  in  the 
preamble  of  which,  unlike  our  good  old  one  signed  by  Washing- 
ton, they  omit  "  We,  the  people,"  and  substitute  "  We,  the  depu- 
ties of  the  sovereign  and  independent  States."  Why?  Why 
this  deliberate  pressing  out  of  view  the  rights  of  men  and  the 
authority  of  the  people?  This  is  essentially  a  people's  con- 
test. On  the  side  of  the  Union  it  is  a  struggle  for  maintain- 
ing in  the  world  that  form  and  substance  of  government  whose 
leading  object  is  to  elevate  the  condition  of  men;  to  lift  arti- 
ficial weights  from  all  shoulders ;  to  clear  the  paths  of  lauda- 
ble pursuit  for  all ;  to  afford  all  an  unfettered  start  and  a  fair 
chance  in  the  race  of  life.  Yielding  to  partial  and  temporary 
departures,  from  necessity,  this  is  the  leading  object  of  the 
Government  for  whose  existence  we  contend.  I  am  most 
happy  to  believe  that  the  plain  people  understand  and  appre- 
ciate this.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  while  in  this  the  Govern- 
ment's hour  of  trial  large  numbers  of  those  in  the  Army  and 
Navy  who  have  been  favored  with  the  offices  have  resigned 
and  proven  false  to  the  hand  which  had  pampered  them,  not  one 
common  soldier  or  common  sailor  is  known  to  have  deserted 
his  flag.  Great  honor  is  due  to  those  officers  who  remained 
true  despite  the  example  of  their  treacherous  associates;  but 
the  greatest  honor  and  most  important  fact  of  all  is  the  unani- 
mous firmness  of  the  common  soldiers  and  common  sailors. 
To  the  last  man,  so  far  as  known,  they  have  successfully  re- 
sisted the  traitorous  efforts  of  those  whose  commands  but  an 
hour  before  they  obeyed  as  absolute  law.  This  is  the  patriotic 
instinct  of  plain  people.  They  understand  without  an  argu- 
ment that  the  destroying  the  Government  which  was  made 
by  Washington  means  no  good  to  them.  (Id.  Vol.  VI.,  pp. 


166  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

ANDREW  JOHNSON,   seventeenth  president,   1865-1869. 

God's  Hand  in  the  Framing  and  Adopting  of  the  Constitution. 

Equality. ,  Education.     Free  Speech.     Religion. 

Popular  Sovereignty. 

The  union  of  the  United  States  of  America  was  intended 
by  its  authors  to  last  as  long  as  the  States  themselves  shall 
last.  "  The  Union  shall  be  perpetual  "  are  the  words  of  the 
Confederation.  "  To  form  a  more  perfect  Union,"  by  an  or- 
dinance of  the  people  of  the  United  States,  is  the  declared 
purpose  of  the  Constitution.  The  hand  of  Divine  Providence 
was  never  more  plainly  visible  in  the  affairs  of  men  than  in  the 
framing  and  adopting  of  that  instrument.  .  .  The  ancient  re- 
publics absorbed  the  individual  in  the  state — prescribed  his 
religion  and  controlled  his  activity.  The  American  system 
rests  on  the  assertion  of  the  equal  right  of  every  man  to  life, 
liberty,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness,  to  freedom  of  conscience, 
to  the  culture  and  exercise  of  all  his  faculties.  As  a  conse- 
quence the  State  government  is  limited — as  to  the  General 
Government  in  the  interest  of  union,  as  fo  the  individual  cit- 
izen in  the  interest  of  freedom.  (Id.  Vol.  VI.,  pp.  353-355-) 

Here  more  and  more  care  is  given  to  provide  education 
for  every  one  born  on  our  soil.  Here  religion,  released  from 
political  connection  with  the  civil  government,  refuses  to  sub- 
serve the  craft  of  statesmen,  and  becomes  in  its  independence 
the  spiritual  life  of  the  people.  Here  toleration  is  extended 
to  every  opinion,  in  the  quiet  certainty  that  truth  needs  only 
a  fair  field  to  secure  the  victory.  Here  the  human  mind  goes 
forth  unshackled  in  the  pursuit  of  science,  to  collect  stores  of 
knowledge  and  acquire  an  ever  increasing  mastery  over  the 
forces  of  nature.  Here  the  national  domain  is  offered  and 
held  in  millions  of  separate  freeholds,  so  that  our  fellow-cit- 
izens, beyond  the  occupants  of  any  other  part  of  the  earth, 
constitute  in  reality  a  people.  Here  exists  the  democratic 
form  of  government;  and  that  form  of  government,  by  the 
confession  of  European  statesmen,  *'  gives  a  power  of  which 
no  other  form  is  capable,  because  it  incorporates  every  man 
with  the  state  and  arouses  everything  that  belongs  to  the  soul." 
Where  in  past  history  does  a  parallel  exist  to  the  public  hap- 
piness which  is  within  the  reach  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States?  Where  in  any  part  of  the  globe  can  institutions  be 
found  so  suiteel  to  their  habits  or  so  entitled  to  their  love  as 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  167 

their  own  free  Constitution  ?  Every  one  of  them,  then,  in  what- 
ever part  of  the  land  he  has  his  home,  must  wish  its  per- 
petuity. (Id.  Vol.  VI.,  p.  370.) 

ULYSSES  S.  GRANT,  eighteenth  president,  1869-1877. 

Personal   Liberties.      Free   Pulpit,    Press  and  School.      The 
States  of  the  Church.     Education. 

The  country  having  just  emerged  from  a  great  rebellion, 
many  questions  will  come  before  it  for  settlement.  .  .  This 
requires  security  of  person,  property  and  free  religious  and 
political  opinion  in  every  part  of  our  common  country,  with- 
out regard  to  local  prejudice.  All  laws  to  secure  these  ends 
will  receive  my  best  efforts  for  their  enforcement.  (Id.  Vol. 
VII.,  pp.  6,  7.) 

We  are  blessed  with  peace  at  home  .  .  with  facilities  for 
every  mortal  to  acquire  an  education ;  with  institutions  clos- 
ing to  none  the  avenues  to  fame  or  any  blessing  of  fortune 
that  may  be  coveted ;  with  freedom  of  the  pulpit,  the  press,  and 
the  school.  (Id.  Vol.  VII.,  p.  27.) 

I  have  been  officially  informed  of  the  annexation  of  the 
States  of  the  Church  to  the  Kingdom  of  Italy,  and  the  re- 
moval of  the  capital  of  that  Kingdom  to  Rome.  In  con- 
formity with  the  established  policy  of  the  United  States,  I 
have  recognized  this  change.  (Id.  Vol.  VII. ,  p.  144.) 

I  recommend  favorable  consideration  of  the  plan  for  unit- 
ing the  telegraphic  system  of  the  United  States  with  the  pos- 
tal system.  .  .  Education,  the  groundwork  of  republican  in- 
stitutions, is  encouraged  by  increasing  the  facilities  to  gather 
speedy  news  from  all  parts  of  the  country.  .  .  The  desire  to 
reap  the  benefits  of  such  improvements  will  stimulate  edu- 
cation. (Id.  Vol.  VII.,  p.  150.) 

RUTHERFORD  B.  HAYES,  nineteenth  president,  1877-1881. 
Education.    Separation  of  Church  and  State. 

To  education  more  than  to  any  other  agency  we  are  to 
look  as  the  resource  for  the  advancement  ,of  the  people  in 
the  requisite  knowledge  and  appreciation  of  their  rights  and 
responsibilities  as  citizens,  and  I  desire  to  repeat  the  sugges- 
tion contained  in  my  former  message  in  behalf  of  the  enact- 
ment of  appropriate  measures  by  congress  for  the  purpose  of 


l68  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

supplementing  with  national  aid  the  local  systems  of  educa- 
tion in  the  several  States.     (Id.  Vol.  VII.,  p.  506.) 

The  sanctity  of  marriage  and  the  family  relation  are  the 
corner  stone  of  our  American  society  and  civilization.  Re- 
ligious liberty  and  the  separation  of  church  and  state  are 
among  the  elementary  ideas  of  free  institutions.  (Id.  Vol. 
VII.,  p.  606.) 

JAMES  A.  GARFIELD,  twentieth  president,  March  4,  1881,  to 
September  19,  1881. 

The  Constitution. 

It  is  now  three  days  more  than  a  hundred  since  the  adop- 
tion of  the  first  written  constitution  of  the  United  States — the 
Articles  of  Confederation.  .  .  The  Colonists  were  struggling 
not  only  against  the  armies  of  a  great  nation,  but  against  the 
settled  opinions  of  mankind;  for  the  world  did  not  then  be- 
lieve that  the  supreme  authority  of  government  could  be  safe- 
ly intrusted  to  the  guardianship  of  the  people  themselves. 
We  cannot  overestimate  the  fervent  love  of  liberty,  the  intelli- 
gent courage,  and  the  sum  of  common  sense  with  which  our 
fathers  made  the  great  experiment  of  self-government.  When 
they  found  after  a  short  trial,  that  the  confederacy  of  States 
was  too  weak  to  meet  the  necessities  of  a  vigorous  and  ex- 
panding republic,  they  boldly  set  it  aside,  and  in  its  stead 
established  a  national  Union,  founded  directly  upon  the  will 
of  the  people.  .  .  Under  this  Constitution  the  boundaries  of 
freedom  have  been  enlarged,  the  foundations  of  order  and 
peace  have  been  strengthened,  and  the  growth  of  our  people 
in  all  the  better  elements  of  national  life  has  indicated  the  wis- 
dom of  the  founders  and  given  new  hope  to  their  descendants. 
(Id.  Vol.  VIII.,  p.  7.) 

CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR,  twenty-first  president,  1881-1885. 
Popular  Government. 

For  the  fourth  time  in  the  history  of  the  Republic  its 
Chief  Magistrate  has  been  removed  by  death.  .  .  For  the 
fourth  time  the  pfficer  elected  by  the  people  and  ordained  by 
the  Constitution  to  fill  a  vacancy  so  created  is  called  to  as- 
sume the  Executive  Chair.  The  wisdom  of  our  fathers,  fore- 
seeing even  the  most  dire  possibilities,  made  sure  that  the 
Government  should  never  be  imperiled  because  of  the  uncer- 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  1 69 

tainty  of  human  life.  Men  may  die,  but  the  fabrics  of  our 
free  institutions  remain  unshaken.  No  higher  or  more  as- 
suring proof  could  exist  of  the  strength  and  permanence  of 
popular  government  than  the  fact  that  though  the  chosen  of 
the  people  be  struck  down  his  constitutional  successor  is  peace- 
fully installed  without  shock  or  strain  except  the  sorrow 
which  mourns  the  bereavement.  (Id.  Vol.  VIII.,  p.  33.) 

The  abundant  privileges  of  freedom  which  our  fathers 
left  us  in  their  wisdom  are  still  our  increasing  heritage.  (Id. 
Vol.  VIII.,  p.  36.) 

GROVER   CLEVELAND,   twenty-second  and  twenty-fourth  pres- 
ident, 1885-1889,  1893-1897. 

Popular  Government.     The  Constitution. 

In  the  presence  of  this  vast  assemblage  of  my  country- 
men I  am  about  to  supplement  and  seal  by  the  oath  which  I 
shall  take  the  manifestation  of  the  will  of  a  great  and  free 
people.  In  the  exercise  of  their  power  and  right  of  self-gov- 
ernment they  have  committed  to  one  of  their  fellow-citizens 
a  supreme  and  sacred  trust,  and  he  here  consecrates  himself 
to  their  service.  .  .  Amid  the  din  of  party  strife  the  people's 
choice  was  made,  but  its  attendant  circumstances  have  demon- 
strated new  strength  and  safety  of  a  government  by  the  peo- 
ple. In  each  succeeding  year  it  more  clearly  appears  that  our 
democratic  principle  needs  no  apology,  and  that  in  its  fearless 
and  faithful  application  is  to  be  found  the  surest  guaranty 
of  good  government.  .  .  But  he  who  takes  the  oath  today 
to  preserve,  protect,  and  defend  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States  only  assumes  the  solemn  obligation  which  every  patri- 
otic citizen — on  the  farm,  in  the  workshop,  in  the  busy  marts 
of  trade,  and  everywhere — should  share  with  him.  The  Con- 
stitution which  prescribes  his  oath,  my  countrymen,  is  yours; 
the  government  you  have  chosen  him  to  administer  for 
a  time  is  yours;  the  suffrage  which  executes  the  will  of  free- 
men is  yours.  (Id.  Vol.  VIII.,  pp.  299-301.) 

When  the  experiment  of  our  Government  was  undertaken, 
the  chart  adopted  for  our  guidance  was  the  Constitution.  De- 
parture from  the  lines  there  laid  down  is  failure.  It  is  only 
by  a  strict  adherence  to  the  direction  they  indicate  and  by 
restraint  within  the  limitations  they  fix  that  we  can  furnish 
proof  to  the  world  of  the  fitness  of  the  American  people  for 
self-government.  (Id.  Vol.  VIII.,  p.  773.) 


I7O  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

BENJAMIN  HARRISON,  twenty-third  president,  1889-1893. 
American  Liberties,  Blessings  and  Duties. 

The  people  of  every  State  have  here  their  representatives. 
Surely  I  do  not  misinterpret  the  spirit  of  the  occasion  when 
I  assume  that  the  whole  body  of  the  people  covenant  with  me 
and  with  each  other  to-day  to  support  and  defend  the  Con- 
stitution and  the  Union  of  the  States,  to  yield  willing  obedi- 
ence to  all  the  laws  and  each  to  every  other  citizen  his  equal, 
civil  and  political  rights.  Entering  thus  solemnly  into  cov- 
enant with  each  other,  we  may  reverently  invoke  and  con- 
fidently expect  the  favor  and  help  of  Almighty  God.  .  .  Our 
people  will  not  fail  at  this  time  to  recall  the  incidents  which 
accompanied  the  institution  of  government  under  the  Con- 
stitution, or  to  find  inspiration  and  guidance  in  the  teachings 
and  example  of  Washington  and  his  great  associates.  .  .  The 
masses  of  our  people  are  better  fed,  clothed  and  housed  than 
their  fathers  were.  The  facilities  for  popular  education  have 
been  vastly  enlarged  and  more  generally  diffused.  The  vir- 
tues of  courage  and  patriotism  have  given  recent  proof  of 
their  continued  presence  and  increasing  power  in  the  hearts 
and  over  the  lives  of  our  people.  The  influences  of  religion 
have  been  multiplied  and  strengthened.  .  .  As  a  citizen  may 
not  elect  what  laws  he  will  obey,  neither  may  the  Executive 
elect  which  he  will  enforce.  The  duty  to  obey  and  to  exe- 
cute embraces  the  Constitution  in  its  entirety  and  the  whole 
code  of  laws  enacted  under  it.  .  .  No  other  people  have  a 
government  more  worthy  of  their  respect  and  love  or  a  land 
so  magnificent  in  extent,  so  pleasant  to  look  upon,  and  so  full 
of  generous  suggestion  to  enterprise  and  labor.  God  has 
placed  upon  our  head  a  diadem  and  has  laid  at  our  feet  power 
and  wealth  beyond  definition  or  calculation.  But  we  must 
not  forget  that  we  take  these  gifts  upon  the  condition  that 
justice  and  mercy  shall  hold  the  reins  of  power  and  that 
the  upward  avenues  of  hope  shall  be  free  to  all  the  people.  .  , 
We  shall  find  unalloyed  pleasure  in  the  revelation  which  our 
next  census  will  make.  .  .  Each  State  will  bring  its  gen- 
erous contribution  to  the  great  aggregate  of  the  nation's  in- 
crease. And  when  the  harvests  from  the  fields,  the  cattle 
from  the  hills,  and  the  ores  of  the  earth  shall  have  been 
weighed,  counted  and  valued,  we  will  turn  from  them  all  to 
crown  with  the  highest  honor  the  State  that  has  most  promoted 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  17! 

education,  virtue,   justice,  and  patriotism  among  its  people. 
(Id.  Vol.  IX.,  pp.  6,  7,  9,  13,  14.) 

WILLIAM  McKiNLEY,  twenty-fifth  president,   1897-1901. 

Popular  Government.     Six  Free   Things.     Education.     The 

Constitution.      Fruits    of    American    Sovereignty.      The 

Step  of  the  Republic.     The  Nation's  Hope  is  in 

the  Public  School  and  University. 

No  great  emergency  in  the  one  hundred  and  eight  years 
of  our  eventful  national  life  has  ever  arisen  that  has  not  been 
met  with  wisdom  and  courage  by  the  American  people,  with 
fidelity  to  their  best  interests  and  highest  destiny,  and  to  the 
honor  of  the  American  name.  These  years  of  glorious  his- 
tory have  exalted  mankind  and  advanced  the  cause  of  free- 
dom throughout  the  world,  and  immeasurably  strengthened 
the  precious  free  institutions  which  we  enjoy.  The  people 
love  and  will  sustain  these  institutions.  The  great  essential 
to  our  happiness  and  prosperity  is  that  we  adhere  to  the  prin- 
ciples upon  which  the  government  was  established  and  in- 
sist upon  their  faithful  observance.  Equality  of  rights  must 
prevail,  and  our  laws  be  always  and  everywhere  respected  and 
obeyed.  We  may  have  failed  in  the  discharge  of  our  full  duty 
as  citizens  of  the  great  Republic,  but  it  is  consoling  and  en- 
couraging to  realize  that  free  speech,  a  free  press,  free  thought, 
free  schools,  the  free  and  unmolested  right  of  religious  liberty 
and  worship,  and  free  and  fair*  elections  are  dearer  and  more 
universally  enjoyed  to-day  than  ever  before.  These  guar- 
anties must  be  sacredly  preserved  and  widely  strengthened.  .  . 
A  grave  peril  to  the  Republic  would  be  a  citizenship  too  ig- 
norant to  understand,  or  too  vicious  to  appreciate,  the  great 
value  and  beneficence  of  our  institutions  and  laws,  and  against 
all  who  come  here  to  make  war  upon  them  our  gates  must 
be  promptly  and  tightly  closed.  Nor  must  we  be  unmindful 
of  the  need  of  improvement  among  our  own  citizens,  but  with 
the  zeal  of  our  forefathers  encourage  the  spread  of  knowledge 
and  free  education.  (Id.  Vol.  X.,  pp.  14-16.) 

The  Republic  was  never  so  strong,  because  never  so 
strongly  intrenched  in  the  hearts  of  the  people  as  now.  The 
Constitution,  with  few  amendments,  exists  as  it  left  the  hands 
of  its  authors.  The  additions  which  have  been  made  to  it 
proclaim  larger  freedom  and  more  extended  citizenship.  Pop- 


172  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL.- 

nlar  government  has  demonstrated  in  its  one  hundred  and 
twenty-four  years  of  trial  here  its  stability  and  security  and  its 
efficiency  as  the  best  instrument  of  national  development  and 
the  best  safeguard  to  human  rights.  (Id.  Vol.  X.,  p.  191.) 

We  are  not  waging  war  against  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Philippine  Islands.  A  portion  of  them  are  making  war  against 
the  United  States.  By  far  the  greater  part  of  the  inhabitants 
recognize  American  Sovereignty  and  welcome  it  as  a  guar- 
anty of  order  and  of  security  for  life,  property,  liberty,  free- 
dom of  conscience,  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness.  .  .  May  it 
end  without  further  bloodshed,  and  there  be  ushered  in  the 
reign  of  peace  to  be  made  permanent  by  a  government  of  lib- 
erty under  law!  (Id.  Vol.  X.,  p.  224.) 

The  Republic  has  marched  on  and  on,  and  its  step  has  ex- 
alted freedom  and  humanity.  (Id.  Vol.  X.,  p.  243.) 

In  an  address  delivered  at  Columbus,  Ohio,  June  12, 
1895,  entitled  "  Education  and  Citizenship,"  Mr.  McKinley 
said : 

Our  hope  is  in  the  public  schools  and  in  the  university. 
(International  Memorial  Edition,  Life  of  William  McKinley, 
p.  247.) 

THEODORE  ROOSEVELT, 

the  twenty-sixth  president  of  the  United  States,  in  his  book 
entitled,  "  American  Ideals "  (published  by  G.  P.  Putnam's 
Sons,  New  York  and  London,  1900),  writing  on  "True 
Americanism"  (page  63),  says: 

Free  Schools.    No  Public  Money  for  Parochial  Schools.    Full 

Religious  Toleration.     Separation  of  Church  and  State. 

Immigrant  must  Revere  our  Flag.     The  Church 

which  Remains  Foreign  is  Doomed. 

We  have  no  room  for  any  people  who  do  not  act  and  vote 
simply  as  Americans,  and  as  nothing  else.  Moreover,  we 
have  as  little  use  for  people  who  carry  religious  prejudices 
into  our  politics  as  for  those  who  carry  prejudices  of  caste  or 
nationality.  We  stand  unalterably  in  favor  of  the  public 
school  system  in  its  entirety.  We  believe  that  English  and  no 
other  language,  is  that  in  which  all  the  school  exercises  should 
be  conducted.  We  are  against  any  division  of  the  school  fund, 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  173 

and  against  any  appropriation  of  public  money  for  sectarian 
purposes.  We  are  against  any  recognition  whatever  by  the 
State  in  any  shape  or  form  of  State-aided  parochial  schools. 
But  we  are  equally  opposed  to  any  discrimination  against 
or  for  a  man  'because  of  his  creed.  We  demand  that  all 
citizens,  Protestant  and  Catholic,  Jew  and  Gentile,  shall  have 
fair  treatment  in  every  way;  that  all  alike  shall  have  their 
rights  guaranteed  them.  The  very  reasons  that  make  us  un- 
qualified in  cur  opposition  to  State-aided  sectarian  schools 
make  us  equally  bent  that  in  the  management  of  our  public 
schools,  the  adherents  of  each  creed  shall  be  given  exact  and 
equal  justice,  wholly  without  regard  to  their  religious  affilia- 
tions ;  that  trustees,  superintendents,  teachers,  scholars,  all 
alike,  shall  be  treated  without  any  reference  whatsoever  to  the 
creed  they  profess.  .  .  The  immigrant  .  .  must  learn 
that  we  exact  full  religious  toleration  and  the  complete  sep- 
aration of  Church  and  State  (p.  68).  .  He  must  revere  only 
our  flag;  not  only  must  it  come  first,  but  no  other  flag  should 
even  come  second.  He  must  learn  to  celebrate  .  .  the  Fourth 
of  July  instead  of  St.  Patrick's  Day  (p.  69).  .  .  Those  (of  the 
Germans)  who  became  Americanized  have  furnished  to  our 
history  a  multitude  of  honorable  names;  those  who  did  not 
become  Americanized  form  to  the  present  day  an  unimportant 
body,  of  no  significance  in  American  existence.  .  .  Thus  it 
has  ever  been  with  all  people  who  have  come  hither,  of  what- 
ever stock  or  blood.  The  same  thing  is  true  of  the  churches. 
A  church  which  remains  foreign,  in  language  or  spirit,  is 
doomed  (p.  71). 

President  Roosevelt's  works  are  now  in  the  Vatican  li- 
brary, and  that  he  is  admired  by  the  highest  officials  of  the 
Holy  See  will  be  seen  by  these  words  of  His  Eminence,  Car- 
dinal Satolli,  uttered  at  an  international  function  "^ome, 
February  29,  1904: 

I  have  very  great  pleasure  in  asking  you  to  drink  the 
health  of  the  President  of  the  United  States.  Nearly  all  of 
us  have  been  witnesses  of  his  zeal,  his  activity,  his  forceful- 
ness  ;  we  have  followed  with  interest  and  admiration  the  steps 
of  his  brilliant  career,  and  we  have  come  to  look  upon  him  as 
a  magnificent  type  of  the  true  American, 


174  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

Vaticanisms. 

The  Encyclical  Letters  of  Leo  XIII.  have  been  pub- 
lished by  Benziger  Brothers,  (New  York,  Cincinnati,  Chica- 
go), printers  to  the  Holy  Apostolic  See.  I  take  it  that  no 
higher  authority  can  be  cited  than  this  Vicar  of  Christ 
for  I  read  in  his  words  "  We  hold  upon  this  earth  the  place  of 
God  Almighty."  (The  Great  Encyclical  Letters  of  Leo  XIII., 
P- 


Against  Equality,  Freedom  of  Thought,  Sovereignty  of  the 

People,  Freedom    of  Conscience,  Freedom  of  Speech^ 

Freedom  of  the  Press,  and  Separation  of  Church 

and  State.     Catholic  Church    Should    be 

Supreme   in   State. 

I  now  quote  from  the  deliverances  of  Leo  XIII.  In  his 
Encyclical  entitled  "  The  Christian  Constitution  of  States," 
dated  November  I,  1885,  ^-ls  Holiness  said: 

Sad  it  is  to  call  to  mind  how  the  harmful  and  lamenta- 
ble rage  for  innovation  which  rose  to  a  climax  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  threw  first  of  all  into  confusion  the  Christian 
religion,  and  next,  by  natural  sequence,  invaded  the  pre- 
cincts of  philosophy,  whence  it  spread  amongst  all  classes  of 
society.  From  this  source  .  .  .  burst  forth  all  those  later  tenets 
of  unbridled  license  which,  in  the  midst  of  the  terrible  up- 
heavals of  the  last  century,  were  wildly  conceived  and  boldly 
proclaimed  as  the  principles  and  foundation  of  that  new  juris- 
prudence which  was  not  merely  previously  unknown,  but  was 
at  variance  on  many  points  with  not  only  the  Christian,  but 
even  with  the  natural  law.  Amongst  these  principles  the  main 
one  lays  down  that  as  all  men  are  alike  by  race  and  nature, 
so  -in  like  manner  all  are  equal  in  the  control  of  their  life  ;  that 
each  one  is  so  far  his  own  master  as  to  be  in  no  sense  under 
the  rule  of  any  other  individual  ;  that  each  is  free  to  think 
on  every  subject  just  as  he  may  choose,  and  to  do  whatever 
he  may  like  to  do;  that  no  man  has  any  right  to  rule  over 
other  men.  In  a  society  grounded  upon  such  maxims,  all 
government  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  the  will  of  the  people, 
and  the  people,  being  under  the  power  of  itself  alone,  is  alone 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  175 

its  ruler.  It  does  choose  nevertheless  some  to  whose  charge  it 
may  commit  itself,  but  in  such  wise  that  it  makes  over  to  them 
not  the  right  so  much  as  the  business  of  governing,  to  be  exer- 
cised, however,  in  its  name.  The  authority  of  God  is  passed 
over  in  silence.  .  .  as  if  there  could  be  a  government  of  which 
the  whole  origin  and  power  and  authority  did  not  reside  in 
God  himself.  Thus,  as  is  evident,  a  State  becomes  nothing 
but  a  multitude,  which  is  its  own  master  and  ruler.  And 
since  the  populace  is  declared  to  contain  within  itself  the 
spring-head  of  all  rights  and  of  all  power,  it  follows  that  the 
State  does  not  consider  itself  bound  by  any  kind  of  duty 
towards  God.  Moreover,  it  believes  that  it  is  not  obliged  to 
make  public  profession  of  any  religion ;  or  to  inquire  which 
of  the  very  many  religions  is  the  only  one  true ;  or  to  prefer  one 
religion  to  all  the  rest ;  or  to  show  to  any  form  of  religion  special 
favor;  but,  on  the  contrary,  is  bound  to  grant  equal  rights  to 
every  creed,  so  that  public  order  may  not  be  disturbed  by  any 
particular  form  of  religious  belief.  And  it  is  a  part  of  this 
theory  that  all  questions  that  concern  religion  are  to  be  re- 
ferred to  private  judgment;  that  every  one  is  to  be  free  to  fol- 
low whatever  religion  he  prefers,  or  none  at  all  if  he  disap- 
prove of  all.  From  this  the  following  consequences  logically 
flow :  that  the  judgment  of  each  one's  conscience  is  inde- 
pendent of  all  law ;  that  the  most  unrestrained  opinions  may 
be  openly  expressed  as  to  the  practice  or  omission  of  divine 
worship;  and  that  every  one  has  unbounded  license  to  think 
whatever  he  chooses  and  publish  abroad  whatever  he  thinks. 
(The  Great  Encyclical  Letters  of  Leo  XIII.,  pp.  120,  121.) 

The  sovereignty  of  the  people,  however,  and  this  with- 
out any  reference  to  God,  is  held  to  reside  in  the  multitude; 
which  is  doubtless  a  doctrine  exceedingly  well  calculated  to 
flatter  and  to  inflame  many  passions,  but  which  lacks  all  rea- 
sonable proof,  and  all  power  of  insuring  public  safety  and 
preserving  order.  .  .  The  liberty  of  thinking,  and  of  publish- 
ing, whatsoever  each  one  likes,  without  any  hindrance,  is  not 
in  itself  an  advantage  over  which  society  can  wisely  rejoice. 
On  the  contrary,  it  is  the  fountain-head  and  origin  of  many 
evils.  (Id.  p.  123.) 

To  exclude  the  Church,  founded  by  God  Himself,  from  the 
business  of  life,  from  the  power  of  making  laws,  from  the 
training  of  the  youth,  from  domestic  society,  is  a  grave  and 


17°  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

fatal   error.  .  .  The   Church   of   Christ   is   the   true   and   sole 
teacher  of  virtue  and  guardian  of  morals.     (Id.  p.  124.) 

The  drawing  up  of  laws,  the  administration  of  State  af- 
fairs, the  godless  education  of  youth,  the  spoliation  and  sup- 
pression of  religious  orders,  the  overthrow  of  the  temporal 
power  of  the  Roman  Pontiff,  all  alike  aim  at  this  one  end — to 
paralyze  the  action  of  Christian  institutions,  to  Qramp  to 
the  utmost  the  freedom  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  to  curtail 
her  every  single  prerogative.  (Id.  p.  122.) 

The  State,  constituted  as  it  is,  is  clearly  bound  to  act  up 
to  the  manifold  and  weighty  duties  linking  it  to  God,  by  the 
public  profession  of  religion.  .  .  It  is  a  public  crime  to  act 
as  though  there  were  no  God.  So,  too,  is  it  a  sin  in  the  State 
not  to  have  care  for  religion,  as  a  something  beyond  its 
scope,  or  as  of  no  practical  benefit ;  or  out  of  many  forms  of 
religion  to  adopt  that  one  which  chimes  in  with  the  fancy; 
for  we  are  bound  absolutely  to  worship  God  in  that  way 
which  He  has  shown  to  be  His  will.  All  who  rule,  therefore, 
should  hold  in  honor  the  holy  name  of  God,  and  one  of  their 
chief  duties  must  be  to  favor  religion,  to  protect  it,  to  shield 
it  under  the  credit  and  sanction  of  the  laws,  and  neither  to 
organize  nor  enact  any  measure  that  may  compromise  its  safe- 
ty. This  is  the  bounden  duty  of  rulers  to  the  people  over 
whom  they  rule.  (Id.  pp.  no,  in.) 

Care  must  especially  be  taken  to  preserve  unharmed  and 
unimpeded  the  religion  whereof  the  practice  is  the  link  con- 
necting man  with  God.  Now,  it  cannot  be  difficult  to  find  out 
which  is  the  true  religion,  if  only  it  be  sought  with  an  earnest 
and  unbiased  mind ;  for  proofs  are  abundant  and  striking.  (Id. 
p.  in.) 

The  only  true  religion  is  the  one  established  by  Jesus 
Christ  Himself,  and  which  He  committed  to  His  Church  to 
protect  and  to  propagate.  (Id.  p.  112.) 

And  just  as  the  end  at  which  the  Church  aims  is  by  far 
the  noblest  of  ends,  so  is  its  authority  the  most  exalted  of  all 
authority,  nor  can  it  be  looked  upon  as  inferior  to  the  civil 
power,  or  in  any  manner  dependent  upon  it.  (Id.  pp.  112, 
H30 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  Iff 

Laments  Lack  of  Ecclesiastical  Authority  in  Public  Schools. 

Pope  Leo  XIII.  in  his  Encyclical  entitled  "  The  Right 
Ordering  of  Christian  Life,"  dated  December  25,  1888,  stated: 

As  for  the  public  schools,  it  is  well  known  to  you  that 
there  is  no  ecclesiastical  authority  left  in  them;  and  during 
the  years  when  tender  minds  should  be  trained  carefully  and 
conscientiously  in  Christian  virtue,  the  precepts  of  religion 
are  for  the  most  part  even  left  untaught.  (The  Great  En- 
cyclical Letters  of  Leo  XIII.,  p.  167.) 

When  the  Church  and  State  Conflict,   Obedience  to  the  State 
Becomes  a  Crime. 

In  his  Encyclical  entitled  "  On  the  Chief  Duties  of  Chris- 
tians as  Citizens,"  dated  January  10,  1890,  His  Holiness  said: 

We  are  bound,  then,  to  love  dearly  the  country  whence 
we  have  received  the  means  of  enjoyment  this  mortal  life  af- 
fords, but  we  have  a  much  more  urgent  obligation  to  love, 
with  ardent  love,  the  Church  to  which  we  owe  the  life  of  the 
soul,  a  life  that  will  endure  forever.  For  fitting  it  is  to  pre- 
fer the  good  of  the  soul  to  the  well-being  of  the  body,  inas- 
much as  duties  toward  God  are  of  a  far  more  hallowed  char- 
acter than  those  towards  men.  Moreover,  if  we  would  judge 
aright,  the  supernatural  love  for  the  Church  and  the  natural 
love  of  our  own  country  proceed  from  the  same  eternal  prnciple, 
since  God  himself  is  their  Author  and  originating  Cause.  Con- 
sequently it  follows  that  between  the  duties  they  respectively 
enjoin,  neither  can  come  into  collision  with  the,  other.  We 
can,  certainly,  and  should  love  ourselves,  bear  ourselves  kind- 
ly towards  our  fellow-men,  nourish  affection  for  the  State  and 
the  governing  powers ;  but  at  the  same  time  we  can  and  must 
cherish  towards  the  Church  a  feeling  of  filial  piety,  and  love 
God  with  the  deepest  love  of  which  we  are  capable.  The 
order  of  precedence  of  these  duties  is,  however,  at  times  either 
under  stress  of  public  calamities,  or  through  the  perverse  will 
of  men,  inverted.  For  instances  occur  where  the  State  seems 
to  require  from  men  as  subjects  one  thing,  and  religion,  from 
men  as  Christians,  quite  another;  and  this  in  reality  without 
any  other  ground,  than  that  the  rulers  of  the  State  either 
hold  the  sacred  power  of  the  Church  of  no  account,  or  en- 


178  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

deavor  to  subject  it  to  their  own  will.  Hence  arises  a  con- 
flict, and  an  occasion,  through  such  conflict,  of  virtue  being 
put  to  the  proof.  The  two  powers  are  confronted  and  urge 
their  behests  in  a  contrary  sense;  to  obey  both  is  wholly  im- 
possible. No  man  can  serve  two  masters,  for  to  please  the 
one  amounts  to  contemning  the  other.  As  to  which  should 
be  preferred  no  one  ought  to  balance  for  an  instant.  It  is  a 
high  crime  indeed  to  withdraw  allegiance  from  God  in 
order  to  please  men;  an  act  of  consummate  wickedness  to 
break  the  laws  of  Jesus  Christ,  in  order  to  yield  obedience 
to  earthly  rulers,  or,  under  pretext  of  keeping  the  civil  law, 
to  ignore  the  rights  of  the  Church ;  we  ought  to  obey  God 
rather  than  men.  This  answer,  which  of  old,  Peter  and  the 
other  apostles  were  used  to  give  the  civil  authorities  who  en- 
joined unrighteous  things,  we  must,  in  like  circumstances,  give 
always  and  without  hesitation.  No  better  citizen  is  there, 
whether  in  time  of  peace  or  war,  than  the  Christian  who  is 
mindful  of  his  duty;  but  such  a  one  should  be  ready  to  suffer 
all  things,  even  death  itself,  rather  than  abandon  the  cause  of 
God  or  of  the  Church.  .  .  But  if  the  laws  of  the  State  are 
manifestly  at  variance  with  the  divine  law,  containing  enact- 
ments hurtful  to  the  Church,  or  conveying  injunctions  ad- 
verse to  the  duties  imposed  by  religion,  or  if  they  violate  in 
the  person  of  the  supreme  Pontiff  the  authority  of  Jesus  Christ, 
then  truly,  to  resist  becomes  a  positive  duty,  to  obey,  a  crime ; 
a  crime,  moreover,  combined  with  misdemeanor  against  the 
State  itself,  inasmuch  as  every  offence  leveled  against  religion 
is  also  a  sin  against  the  State.  .  .  Men  have  become  pos- 
sessed with  so  arrogant  a  sense  of  their  own  powers,  as  al- 
ready to  consider  themselves  able  to  banish  from  social  life 
the  authority  and  empire  of  God.  Led  away  by  this  delusion, 
they  make  over  to  human  nature  the  dominion  of  which  they 
think  God -has  been  despoiled;  from  nature,  they  maintain, 
we  must  seek  the  principle  and  rule  of  all  truth;  from  nature, 
they  aver,  alone  spring,  and  to  it  should  be  referred,  all  the 
duties  that  religious  feeling  prompts.  Hence  they  depy  all 
revelation  from  on  high,  and  all  fealty  due  to  the  Christian 
teaching  of  morals  as  well  as  all  obedience  to  the  Church,  and 
they  go  so  far  as  to  deny  her  power  of  making  laws  and  ex- 
ercising every  other  kind  of  right,  even  disallowing  the  Church 
any  place  among  the  civil  institutions  of  the  State  .  .  in  order 
that  the  legislation  may  the  more  easily  be  adapted  to  these 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  179 

principles,  and  the  morals  of  the  people  influenced  in  accord- 
ance with  them.  Whence  it  comes  to  pass  that  in  many  coun- 
tries Catholicism  is  either  openly  assailed  or  else  secretly  in- 
terfered with,  full  impunity  being  granted  to  the  most  per- 
nicious doctrines,  while  the  public  profession  of  Christian 
truth  is  shackled  often  times  with  manifold  constraints.  .  . 
But  the  supreme  teacher  in  the  church  is  the  Roman  Pontiff. 
Union  of  minds,  therefore,  requires,  together  with  a  perfect 
accord  in  the  one  faith,  complete  submission  and  obedience 
of  will  to  the  church  and  to  the  Roman  Pontiff  as  to  God  him- 
self. This  obedience,  however,  should  be  perfect,  because  it 
is  enjoined  by  faith  itself,  and  has  this  in  common  with  faith, 
that  it  cannot  be  given  in  shreds ; — nay,  were  it  not  -absolute 
and  perfect  in  every  particular,  it  might  wear  the  name  of 
obedience,  but  its  essence  would  disappear.  (The  Great  En- 
cyclical Letters  of  Leo  XIII.,  pp.  183,  185-187,  193.) 

Church  and  State  Cannot  be  Separated. 

In  his  Encyclical  which  reviewed  his  pontificate,  dated 
March  19,  1902,  His  Holiness  said: 

In  making  man  a  being  destined  to  live  in  society,  God 
in  his  Providence  has  also  founded  the  Church,  which  as  the 
holy  text  expresses  it,  He  has  established  on  Mount  Zion  in 
order  that  it  might  be  a  light  which,  with  its  life-giving  rays, 
would  cause  the  principle  of  life  to  penetrate  into  the  various 
degrees  of  human  society  by  giving  it  divinely  inspired  laws, 
by  means  of  which  society  might  establish  itself  in  that  order 
which  would  be  most  conducive  to  its  welfare.  Hence  in  pro- 
portion as  society  separates  itself  from  the  Church,  which 
is  an  important  element  in  its  strength,  by  so  much  does  it 
decline,  or  its  woes  are  multiplied  for  the  reason  that  they  are 
separated  whom  God  wished  to  bind  together.  (The  Great 
Encyclical  Letters  of  Leo  XIII.,  p.  575.) 

Separation  of  Church  and  State  an  Absurdity,     Sometimes  it 

is  worthy  of  Toleration  when  Situation  Practically  Might 

be  Worse — in  United  States  for  Instance. 

In  his   Encyclical  entitled  "  Allegiance  to  the    (French) 
Republic,"  dated  February  16,  1892,  His  Holiness  said: 


I&)  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

We  shall  not  hold  to  the  same  language  (referring  to  the 
Concordat  between  France  and  the  Holy  See)  on  another 
point,  concerning  the  principle  of  the  separation  of  the  State 
and  Church,  which  is  equivalent  to  the  separation  of  human 
legislation  from  Christian  and  divine  legislation.  We  do  not 
care  to  interrupt  Ourselves  here  in  order  to  demonstrate  the 
absurdity  of  such  a  separation ;  each  one  will  understand  for 
himself.  As  soon  as  the  State  refuses  to  give  to  God  what 
belongs  to  God,  by  a  necessary  consequence  it  refuses  to  give 
to  citizens  that  to  which,  as  men,  they  have  a  right ;  as,  whether 
agreeable  or  not  to  accept,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  man's 
rights  spring  from  his  duty  toward  God.  WThence  it  follows 
that  the  State,  by  missing  in  this  connection  the  principal  ob- 
ject of  its  institution,  finally  becomes  false  to  itself  by  deny- 
ing that  which  is  the  reason  of  its  own  existence.  These  su- 
perior truths  are  so  clearly  proclaimed  by  the  voice  of  even 
natural  reason,  that  they  force  themselves  upon  all  who  are  not 
blinded  by  the  violence  of  passion ;  therefore  Catholics  can- 
not be  too  careful  in  defending  themselves  against  such  a 
separation.  In  fact,  to  wish  that  the  State  would  separate  it- 
self from  the  Church  would  be  to  wish,  by  a  logical  sequence, 
that  the  Church  be  reduced  to  the  liberty  of  living  according 
to  the  law  common  to  all  citizens.  .  .  It  is  true  that  in  certain 
countries  this  state  of  affairs  ^exists.  It  is  a  condition  which, 
if  it  have  numerous  and  sefious  inconveniences,  also  offers 
some  advantages — above  all  when,  by  a  fortunate  inconsis- 
tency, the  legislator  is  inspired  by  Christian  principles — and, 
though  these  advantages  cannot  justify  the  false  principle  of 
separation  nor  authorize  its  defence,  they  nevertheless  ren- 
der worthy  of  toleration  a  situation  which,  practically,  might  be 
worse.  But  in  France,  a  nation  Catholic  in  her  traditions  and 
by  the  present  faith  of  the  great  majority  of  her  sons,  the 
Church  should  not  be  placed  in  the  precarious  position  to 
which  she  must  submit  among  other  peoples;  and  the  better 
that  Catholics  understand  the  aim  of  the  enemies  who  desire 
this  separation,  the  less  will  they  favor  it.  To  these  enemies, 
and  they  say  it  clearly  enough,  this  separation  means  that  po- 
litical legislation  be  entirely  independent  of  religious  legisla- 
tion; nay,  more,  that  Power  be  absolutely  indifferent  to  the 
interests  of  Christian  society,  that  is  to  say,  of  the  Church; 
in  fact,  that  it  deny  her  very  existence.  (The  Great  Encycli- 
cal Letters  of  Leo  XIIL,  pp.  261-263.) 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  l8l 

Confirms  and  Renews  All  Censures  of  Predecessors. 

"  In  his  Encyclical  entitled  "  The  Evils  Affecting  Modern 
Society,"  dated  April  21,  1878,  His  Holiness  said: 

'  In  the  next  place,  in  order  that  the  union  of  hearts  be- 
tween their  chief  Pastor  and  the  whole  Catholic  flock  may 
daily  be  strengthened,  We  here  call  upon  you,  Venerable 
Brothers,  with  particular  earnestness,  and  strongly  urge  you 
to  kindle,  with  priestly  zeal  and  pastoral  care,  the  fire  of  the 
love  of  religion  among  the  faithful  entrusted  to  you,  that  their 
attachment  to  this  chair  of  truth  and  justice  may  become  closer 
and  firmer,  that  they  may  welcome  all  its  teachings  with 
thorough  assent  of  mind  and  will,  wholly  rejecting  such  opin- 
ions, even  when  most  widely  received,  as  they  know  to  be 
contrary  to  the  Church's  doctrine.  In  this  matter,  the  Roman 
Pontiffs,  Our  predecessors,  and  last  of  all,  Pius  IX.  of  sacred 
memory,  especially  in  the  General  Council  of  the  Vatican, 
have  not  neglected,  so  often  as  there  was  need,  to  condemn 
wide-spreading  errors  and  to  smite  them  with  the  Apostolic  con- 
demnation. This  they  did,  keeping  before  their  eyes  the  words 
of  St.  Paul:  Beware  lest  any  man  cheat  you  by  philosophy 
and  vain  deceit,  according  to  the  tradition  of  men,  according 
to  the  elements  of  the  world  and  not  according  to  Christ.  All 
such  censures,  We,  following  in  the  steps  of  Our  predeces- 
sors, do  confirm. and  renew  from  this  Apostolic  Seat  of  truth, 
whilst  We  earnestly  ask  of  the  Father  of  Lights  that  all  the 
faithful,  brought  to  thorough  agreement  in  the  like  feeling 
and  the  same  belief,  may  think  and  speak  even  as  Ourselves. 
(The  Great  Encyclical  Letters  of  Leo  XIII.,  pp.  16,  17.) 

The  predecessors  of  Leo  XIII.  had  condemned  without 
stint  the  liberties  guaranteed  by  the  Constitution  of  the  United 
States. 

Not  in  America  is  Found  Most  Desirable  Status  of  the  Church. 

Sighs  for  the  Favor  of  the  Laws  and  the  Patronage 

of  the  Public  Authority. 

From  the  Encyclical  of  Leo  XIII.,  entitled  "  Catholicity 
in  the  United  States,"  dated  January  6,  1895,  I  quote  as  fol- 
lows; 


l82  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

Many  facts  have  been  brought  to  Our  notice,  whereby  We 
are  animated  with  hope  and  filled  with  joy,  namely,  that  the 
numbers  of  secular  and  regular  clergy  are  steadily  augment- 
ing, that  pious  sodalities  and  confraternities  are  held  in  esteem, 
that  the  Catholic  parochial  schools,  the  Sunday-schools  for 
imparting  Christian  doctrine,  and  summer  schools  are  in  a 
flourishing  condition;  moreover,  associations  for  mutual  aid, 
for  the  relief  of  the  indigent,  for  the  promotion  of  temperate 
living,  add  to  all  this  the  many  evidences  of  popular  piety. 
The  main  factor,  no  doubt,  in  bringing  things  into  this  happy 
state  were  the  ordinances  and  decrees  of  your  synods,  especi- 
ally of  those  which  in  more  recent  times  were  convened  and 
confirmed  by  the  authority  of  the  Apostolic  See.  But,  more- 
over (a  fact  which  it  gives  pleasure  to  acknowledge),  thanks 
are  due  to  the  equity  of  the  laws  which  obtain  in  America 
and  to  the  customs  of  the  well-ordered  Republic.  For  the 
Church  amongst  you,  unopposed  by  the  Constitution  and  Gov- 
ernment of  your  nation,  fettered  by  no  hostile  legislation,  pro- 
tected against  violence  by  the  common  laws  and  the  impar- 
tiality of  the  tribunals,  is  free  to  live  and  act  without  hin- 
drance. Yet,  though  all  this  is  true,  it  would  be  very  erron- 
eous to  draw  the  conclusion  that  in  America  is  to  be  sought 
the  type  of  the  most  desirable  status  of  the  Church,  or  that 
it  would  be  universally  lawful  or  expedient  for  State  and 
Church  to  be,  as  in  America,  dissevered  and  divorced.  The 
fact  that  Catholicity  with  you  is  in  good  condition,  nay,  is 
even  enjoying  a  prosperous  growth,  is  by  all  means  to  be  at- 
tributed to  the  fecundity  with  which  God  has  endowed  His 
Church,  in  virtue  of  which  unless  men  or  circumstances  in- 
terfere, she  spontaneously  expands  and  propagates  herself; 
but  she  would  bring  forth  more  abundant  fruits  if,  in  addition 
to  liberty,  she  enjoyed  the  favor  of  the  laws  and  the  patronage 
of  the  public  authority.  (The  Great  Encyclical  Letters  of 
Leo  XIIL,  pp.  323,  324.) 

'Any  Civilisation  Conflicting  with  Holy  Church  is  a  Meaning- 
less Name. 

Possibly,  as  a  summing  up  of  the  views  of  Leo  XIIL,  the 
following  taken  from  his  Encyclical  entitled  "  The  Evils  Af- 
fecting Modern  Society,"  dated  April  21,  1878,  although  not 
uttered  at  the  close  of  his  many  deliverances,  may  suffice: 


BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  183 

That  kind  of  civilization  which  conflicts  with  the  doc- 
trines and  laws  of  Holy  Church  is  nothing  but  a  worthless 
imitation  and  a  meaningless  name.  (The  Great  Encyclical 
Letters  of  Leo  XIII.,  p.  12.) 

DOES  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL  TEACH  AMERICANISMS  OR 
VATICANISMS? 

The  important  question  now  is :  Does  the  parochial  school 
teach  these  Americanisms  or  these  Vaticanisms?  If  it  teaches 
the  former,  it  is  non-Catholic;  if  it  teaches  the -latter,  it  is  un- 
American.  Does  it  teach  neither  ?  Then  it  is  neither  American 
nor  Catholic  because  its  relation  to  both  is  too  vital  to  permit 
it  to  follow  any  such  silent  course. 

I  close  this  chapter  with  this  statement:  The  parochial 
school  which  does  not  continually  strive  to  create  in  its  pu- 
pils a  firm  belief  in  the  foregoing  Americanisms  is  a  menace 
to  the  American  Nation. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


THE   PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL  SUPERINTENDENTS. 

Bishops,  Archbishops  and  Cardinals  are  the  superintend- 
ents of  the  parochial  schools  in  their  respective  Sees. 

A  Papal  Delegate  is  virtually  a  supervising  superin- 
tendent of  parochial  schools. 

Such  superintendencies  are  inherently  ineffective  and  de- 
ficient for  many  reasons. 

Is  the  parochial  school  superintendent  always  a  man  of 
natural  ability,  pedagogic  training,  and  holiness  of  life?  No, 
indeed!  He  may  be  without  pedagogic  ability  and  training, 
and  most  frequently  is.  He  may  be  a  trained  spiritual  ad- 
viser— he  is  not  a  trained  secular  educator.  He  may  be  a 
man  of  immoral  life.  Grave  charges  against  parochial  school 
superintendents  are  not  unknown  at  Rome. 

Lamentable  are  the  deficiencies  which  are  frequently 
found  in  men  who  wear  the  mitre ;  and  shocking  are  the  means 
by  which  the  episcopal  dignity  is  often  acquired. 

Bishops,  Archbishops  and  Cardinals  frequently  get  their 
positions  through  "pull"  and  per  pecuniam — by  money — and 
not  through  merit  or  the  Holy  Ghost. 

Whenever  there  is  a  vacant  See  a  regular  scramble  for 
the  nomination  to  the  position  ensues  among  the  clergy.  Often 
the  "  wires  "  are  laid  before  the  See  becomes  vacant.  Cau- 
cuses are  held  day  and  night,  trades  are  made,  preferments 
are  offered,  and  money  is  plentifully  used.  There  is  very  lit- 
tle chance  for  a  humble,  pious  and  learned  man  to  receive  the 
nomination  or  appointment. 


SUPERINTENDENTS.  185 

Bishop  Spalding,  of  Peoria,  Illinois,  was  chosen  by  the 
electors  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Chicago  and  the  Suffragan  Bi- 
shops of  that  Province,  and  the  leading  Catholic  ecclesiastics 
of  America  urged  Rome  to  appoint  him,  as  the  successor  of 
the  late  Archbishop  Feehan;  but  merit  was  ignored  and  the 
Holy  Ghost  was  riot  consulted.  In  the  words  of  one  of  the 
Suffragan  Bishops  of  the  Province  of  Chicago,  "the  defeat 
of  Bishop  Spalding  was  brought  about  by  the  sordid  little 
soul  of  Satolli,  the  Religious  Rabble,  (meaning  the  Religious 
Orders),  and  the  reprobates  (meaning  priests)  of  Chicago." 

Ecclesiastics  are  appointed  to  vacant  Sees  in  America  by 
the  Propaganda,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Pope.  The 
appointing  powers  prefer  men  who  will  be  entirely  subser- 
vient to  them,-  and  hence  they  do  not  select  men  who  are  likely 
to  enter  upon  any  reformatory  work  among  the  clergy.  They; 
dread  getting  any  priest  into  office  who  might  be  inclined, 
even  in  a  remote  degree,  to  imitate  the  fearless  and  righteous 
Florentine  martyr,  Father  Jerome  Savonarola.  Such  a  man 
in  his  zeal  might  attempt  to  bring  about  a  reformation,  and 
find  it  necessary  to  expose  to  the  world  the  rottenness  of 
priests  and  prelates,  and  if  there  were  any  attempts  by  Rome 
to  stop  him  he  might  tell  some  embarrassing  facts,  ancient 
and  modern,  about  the  clergy  there,  and  by  being  the  head 
of  a  See  his  words  might  create  a  deep  impression  on  the 
world.  A  risk  of  this  kind  is  not  knowingly  taken  by  the 
ecclesiastics  who  control  the  appointment,  and  whose  mail, 
while  their  decision  is  in  abeyance,  often  necessitates  extra 
banking  facilities,  while  they  themselves  are  waited  upon  by 
emissaries  of  various  candidates,  armed  with  blank  checks. 

Wicked  men  do  not  have  their  way  every  time  a  vacant 
See  is  filled,  and  men  of  good  character  sometimes  providen- 
tially slip  into  the  episcopacy;  but  if  they  assert  any  indepen- 
dence, for  instance  by  lecturing  before  a  non-Catholic  uni- 
versity and  thereby  giving  recognition  to  such  an  institution, 
or  by  writing  liberal-minded  articles,  which  are  repugnant 
to  Rome,  they  will  never  get  any  higher  ecclesiastical  honors. 


1 86  THE   PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

There  is  a  bishop  in  Illinois  who  is  a  living  proof  of  the  truth- 
fulness of  my  words.  He  is  an  American  citizen  who  is  most 
highly  esteemed  by  all  classes  and  creeds,  and  has  a  world- 
wide reputation.  Will  he  ever  be  a  Cardinal?  No.  .Will  he 
ever  be  aa  Archbishop  ?  No.  Men  who  are  unworthy  to  un- 
latch his  shoes  have  been  and  will  be  given  the  preference. 

Two  ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  THE  SELECTION  OF  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL 
SUPERINTENDENTS. 

My  biographical  sketch  contains  one  illustration. 

A  Catholic  priest,  a  candidate  for  the  episcopacy,  went 
to  Rome  to  secure  the  mitre,  and  met  there  a  beautiful  woman 
from  St.  Louis,  who  was  travelling.  He  returned  to  America, 
and  soon  afterwards  was  elevated  to  the  Episcopacy.  Formal 
charges  of  seduction  were  then  made  against  him,  but  nothing 
came  of  them.  They  were  "wastebasketed."  A  distinguished 
prelate,  his  Archbishop,  since  deceased,  said  to  him :  "  I  ex- 
pected merely  to  attend  your  consecration,  but  since  they  have 
preferred  charges  against  you  I  will  do  better — I  will  con- 
secrate you  myself,"  and  he  did.  This  seductionist-bishop 
is  a  strong  advocate  of  the  American  Federation  of  Catholic 
Societies ;  he  wants  French  goods  boycotted  to  punish  France 
for  attacking  and  expelling  the  Religious  Orders;  and  he 
asserts  that  the  American  public  school  is  of  the  Devil. 

UNWORTHY  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL  PRINCIPALS  AND  ASSISTANT 

PRINCIPALS  ARE  SHIELDED  BY   PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL 

SUPERINTENDENTS. 

The  parochial  school  superintendent  is  generally  in  such 
a  position  that  he  dare  not  interfere  with  corrupt  parochial 
school  principals  or  assistant  principals.  Parochial  school  su- 
perintendents are  not  made  in  a  day.  They  are  first  priests. 
They  serve  their  time  in  the  pastorate.  They  are  men  of  like 
passions  with  their  brethren.  If  they  sin  in  the  pastorate  their 
sins  are  probably  found  out  by  their  fellow-priests.  When 
they  are  elevated  to  the  episcopacy  the  priests  of  their  dioceses 


SUPERINTENDENTS.  187 

already  know  or  speedily  find  out  about  their  compromising 
deeds,  and  if  they  rebuke  a  corrupt  priest  it  is  but  the  kettle 
calling  the  pot  black.  There  are  Bishops,  Archbishops  and 
Cardinals  who  are  living  in  constant  dread  of  exposure. 

In  America  the  Bishops  and  Archbishops  have  a  cardinal- 
ate  bee  in  their  bonnets  as  the  Catholic  Church  in  America  has 
but  one  representative  in  the  College  of  Cardinals.  They  re- 
gard this  representation  as  being  ridiculously  small.  The  pub- 
lic press  teems  periodically  with  announcements,  purporting  to 
emanate  from  Rome,  of  the  intention  of  the  Holy  Father  to  en- 
large the  American  representation  in  the  College  of  Cardinals. 
This  is  welcome  news  to  the  American  Church  dignitaries,  who 
see  in  it  an  opportunity  for  their  own  advancement.  Now  does 
any  one  suppose  that  a  Bishop  or  an  Archbishop  will  hazard 
his  chance  for  a  Cardinal's  hat  by  having  disagreements  with 
the  powerful  sinning  priests  under  him?  Indeed,  no.  These 
parochial  school  principals  might  manage  to  get  racy  accounts 
into  the  Vatican  of  the  adventures  of  their  Archbishop  when 
he  was  a  parish  rector  or  a  parochial  school  superintendent 
elsewhere,  and  while  the  Holy  See  might  not  seriously  object 
to  him  on  this  account,  still  it  might  turn  the  scales  against 
him  and  in  favor  of  another  Archbishop  whose  Archdiocese 
shows  no  outward  sign  of  dissension.  The  ambitions  of  a 
Bishop  or  an  Archbishop  lead  him  into  the  course  of  condon- 
ing sin,  especially  when  the  sinners  are  his  under-shepherds 
of  wealth  and  prominence.  It  may  happen  that  his  priests 
are  aware  not  only  of  his  past,  but  present  violations  of  the 
moral  law.  Elevation  to  the  episcopacy  does  not  deaden  the 
forties  peccati.  If  it  did,  the  Council  of  Trent  would  not  have 
passed  laws  (which  are  still  in  force)  concerning  incon- 
tinent Bishops  and  their  bastard  children.  (See  Sess.  25,  cap. 
xiv.  et  cap.  xv.,  de  Reformatione.) 

To  let  my  readers  know  how  parochial  school  superin- 
tendents shield  unworthy  parochial  school  principals,  I  now 
state  that  a  strong  Catholic  Layman's  Association  was  formed 
during  the  Chicago  controversy.  The  laymen,  knowing  that 


l88  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

their  immediate  Church  dignitaries  would  afford  no  relief, 
made  several  appeals  to  the  Papal  Delegate,  Cardinal  Mar- 
tinelli.  This  is  a  copy  of  one  of  their  communications : 

Chicago,  January  4th,  1902. 
To  His  Eminence, 
Cardinal  Martinelli, 

Pro  Delegate  Apostolic, 

Washington,  D.  C. 
Your  Eminence : 

The  committee  representing  the  Catholic  Laymen's  As- 
sociation of  Chicago,  were  grievously  disappointed  not  to  be 
able  to  present  to  Your  Eminence  in  person  the  petition  en- 
closed which  they  had  prepared  for  presentation  on  Sunday, 
January  5th,  1902,  at  which  time  it  was  reported  that  Your 
Eminence  was  to  be  in  Chicago. 

You  will  note  in  this  petition  we  refrain  from  specifying 
the  particulars  of  any  incidents  evidencing  the  lamentable 
conditions  which  prevail  here  and  call  for  immediate  and 
strenuous  measures  of  relief.  We  omitted  such  mention  from 
said  petition  because  we  deemed  the  occasion  upon  which  we 
hope  to  present  the  same  to  Your  Eminence  to  be  unfitting  for 
such  details.  We  desire  now  to  impress  upon  Your  Eminence 
some  adequate  conception  of  the  state  of  affairs  by  referring 
to  the  following  facts,  all  of  which  are  capable  of  verification. 

We  confine  our  attention  to  the  period  within  the  past 
two  months. 

We  still  withhold  names  because  the  purpose  of  this  com- 
munication is  to  solicit  your  intervention  and  beg  the  oppor- 
tunity to  present  evidence.  It  is  plain  that  at  such  stage  of 
procedure  it  is  not  desirable  that  the  names  of  the  delinquents 
should  be  committed  to  writing  upon  any  documents  except 
such  as  are  intended  as  formal  steps  in  the  way  of  prosecution. 

On  the  night  of  Friday,  November  29,  1901,  between  7 
and  9  P.  M.,  a  pastor  of  one  of  our  city  parishes  was  seen  in 
a  state  of  intoxication  near  Wabash  Avenue  and  Madison 
Street  in  this  city  engaged  in  soliciting  women  passers-by. 

On  the  same  night  another  pastor  of  a  parish  in  this  dio- 
cese was  seen  coming  out  of  a  public  saloon  plainly  under  the 
influence  of  drink.  This  was  in  the  same  general  locality 
as  the  incident  last  above  mentioned.  This  district  is  in  the 
central  and  most  frequented  part  of  the  city. 


SUPERINTENDENTS.  l8Q 

On  Tuesday,  December  3,  1901,  about  midnight,  another 
priest,  recently  appointed  pastor  of  a  city  parish,  was  found 
by  the  police  in  a  condition  of  helpless  intoxication  and  taken 
to  a  police  station  and  there  kept  over  night. 

Within  a  few  days  of  the  last  mentioned  incident  an  as- 
sistant pastor  of  a  prominent  city  parish  entered  a  saloon  located 
in  a  neighboring  parish  in  this  city ;  found  no  one  present  there 
except  the  saloon-keeper  and  his  wife;  dispatched  the  former 
upon  some  errand  real  or  supposed  which  would  have  required 
the  husband's  absence  for  some  time;  and  then  attempted  an 
indecent  assault  upon  the  wife;  was  resisted  and  received  a 
severe  beating  at  the  hands  of  the  wife  and  the  husband  upon 
the  latter's  return. 

About  midnight  on  Sunday,  December  i,  1901,  the  police 
were  called  to  the  presbytery  of  one  of  the  largest  parishes  in 
this  city  to  a  disturbance  caused  by  one  of  the  assistant  priests 
who  was  under  the  influence  of  liquor,  firing  pistol  shots  in 
the  house.  Upon  the  entry  of  the  police  beer  bottles  were 
found  lying  about  the  room  and  the  windows  were  broken 
and  the  scene  was  one  of  drunken  disorder. 

An  assistant  pastor  of  a  prominent  city  parish  is  known 
to  have  had  illicit  intercourse  repeatedly  with  a  young  girl, 
with  whom  his  first  appointment  was  made  through  the  con- 
fessional. 

It  is  also  known  that  this  same  assistant  with  three  other 
priests  had  intercourse  with  the  same  woman  during  the  same 
evening  while  they  were  together  all  under  the  influence  of 
liquor. 

The  subscribers  hereto  are  life-long  members  of  the  Catho- 
lic Church.  Her  reputation  is  as  dear  to  us  as  our  own.  We 
beg  you  to  believe  that  we  are  incapable  of  making  such  state- 
ments as  the  above  except  in  an  honest  belief  of  their  truth 
and  in  the  sole  desire  to  save  the  Church  from  such  raven- 
ing wolves.  We  are  ourselves  responsible  citizens  whose  self- 
interest  as  well  as  a  sense  of  decency  would  make  it  impossi- 
ble for  us  to  participate  in  or  to  countenance  slanders  of  our 
own  Church.  It  is  only  because  these  enormities  have  grown 
to  such  frightful  proportions  as  to  threaten  the  very  sanctity 
of  our  own  homes  and  to  make  every  Catholic  man  with 
wife  and  daughters  shudder  to  reflect  that  they  or  their  friends 
are  exposed  to  such  dangers  and  that  such  unspeakable  shame 
is  brought  upon  their  Holy  Mother,  the  Church. 


1QO  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

We  implore  Your  Eminence,  if  it  be  impossible  to  prose- 
cute an  immediate  investigation  of  these  matters,  that  you 
will  take  at  least  some  prompt  steps  to  impose  some  restrain- 
ing influence  upon  this  element  of  our  priesthood  here.  When 
the  late  agitation  to  which  Father  Crowley  was  a  party  was  at 
its  height  it  was  noted  that  these  evil  excesses  were  at  least 
temporarily  suppressed.  But  recently  it  seems  to  have  been 
understood  that  the  authorities  of  the  Church  in  frowning 
upon  that  agitation  have  condoned  the  evils  which  were  there- 
by exposed,  and  that  since  Father  Crowley  was  subjected  to 
censure,  the  evil-doers  had  received  a  dispensation  and  were 
licensed  to  continue  as  before.  There  is  apparently  no  one  here 
who  has  the  authority  and  at  the  same  time  the  courage  and 
the  disposition  to  suppress  these  abominable  evils.  They  have 
existed  so  long  and  are  known  to  so  many  among  the  Faithful 
and  the  efforts  heretofore  made  to  invoke  the  active  interven- 
tion of  the  local  authorities  of  the  Church  have  so  utterly  failed 
that  we  can  only  appeal  to  Your  Eminence. 

We  do  so  in  the  hope  and  with  the  prayer  that  you  will 
save  our  Church,  our  homes,  our  wives,  our  children,  and 
ourselves  from  consequences  which  no  man  can  foresee,  if 
our  hope  is  disappointed  and  our  prayer  rejected. 

We  subscribe  ourselves  loyal  sons  of  the  Catholic  Church 
and  humble  and  devoted  servants  of  Christ  and  dutiful  sub- 
jects to  Your  Eminence,  the  representative  of  the  Holy  See. 

This  communication  was  duly  signed  and  sent,  but  it 
was  ignored. 

On  Sunday,  January  19,  1902,  there  was  held  at  the  of- 
fices of  the  Catholic  Laymen's  Association  in  Chicago,  a 
meeting  of  its  executive  committee.  Nearly  every  parish  in 
the  city  was  represented.  The  following  resolutions  were 
unanimously  passed,  and  a  copy  thereof  was  ordered  to  be 
sent  at  once  to  His  Eminence,  Cardinal  Martinelli,  with  a 
respectful  request  for  as  speedy  a  reply  as  his  convenience 
would  permit.  For  the  purpose  of  transmitting  the  resolu- 
tions and  receiving  a  reply  thereto,  a  sub-committee  was  ap- 
pointed, and  its  members  were  directed  to  request  His  Emi- 
nence to  address  his  reply  to  them.  The  resolution  was  as 
follows : 


SUPERINTENDENTS.  IQT 

Whereas,  we  have  heretofore  in  dutiful  and  respectful 
terms  invoked  the  attention  of  His  Eminence,  the  Pro-Dele- 
gate Apostolic,  to  the  scandalous  condition  of  immorality 
among  certain  of  the  clergy  in  this  Archdiocese,  citing  to  him 
numerous  specific  instances  occurring  within  the  past  few 
months,  with  details  of  time,  place  and  circumstance,  and 
praying  that  he  will  at  least  permit  us  to  present  the  proofs 
•of  our  complaints ; 

And  Whereas,  His  Eminence  has  heretofore  ignored  our 
prayer  and  taken  no  steps  whatever  to  redress  these  wrongs; 

And  Whereas,  it  is  our  plain  and  undoubted  right,  both 
as  sons  of  the  Holy  Catholic  Church  and  as  American  citizens, 
to  enjoy  immunity  for  ourselves,  our  wives,  our  children  and 
our  homes  from  any  licensed  or  obligatory  association,  official 
or  personal,  whether  under  the  relation  of  pastor  or  other- 
wise, with  these  debasing,  soul-destroying  influences  against 
which  we  have  protested,  and  are  therefore  by  God  himself 
armed  with  the  power  of  self-protection,  if  those  whom  the 
Church  have  empowered  and  enjoined  to  protect  us  fail  in 
that  sacred  duty  and  leave  us  defenseless  save  by  an  appeal 
to  the  public  opinion  of  mankind  ; 

Therefore  Be.  It  Resolved :  That  if  within  ten  days  after 
a  copy  of  these  resolutions  shall  have  been  forwarded  to  His 
Eminence,  Cardinal  Martinelli,  no  reply  shall  have  been  re- 
ceived thereto  and  no  steps  shall  have  been  taken  by  the 
Church  authorities  either  to  institute  a  thorough  investigation 
of  these  abominable  evils,  or  to  secure  the  presence  in  the 
diocese  of  some  active  and  restraining  influence  which  shall 
serve  to  suppress  and  check  them,  and  at  least  secure  a  tem- 
porary respite  from  present  conditions  until  a  thorough  re- 
form can  be  effected,  we  shall  lay  before  our  fellow-citizens 
in  the  public  press  or  by  whatever  means  may  be  necessary  the 
full  facts  and  details  which  form  the  basis  of  our  just  indig- 
nation and  complaint,  and  exhibit  to  the  world  the  conditions 
in  this  archdiocese  which  have  prevailed  for  years  past. 

Resolved  that  in  preferring  this  request  to  His  Eminence 
we  reiterate  our  unshaken  loyalty  to  our  Church  and  our  rev- 
erent and  dutiful  submission  to  all  lawful  authority  in  the 
Church  and  that,  in  attempting  to  fix  a  specific  time  within 
which  an  investigation  should  be  instituted,  we  intend  to  act 
subject  to  the  wise  judgment  of  His  Eminence,  the  Pro-Dele- 
gate Apostolic ;  and  if  the  time  named  by  us  above  is  too  brief 


IQ2  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

for  him  to  take  such  important  action  we  will  gladly  and  hum- 
bly yield  our  judgment  in  this  particular  to  his  own;  that  it 
is  only  our  purpose  to  receive  definite  and  reliable  assurance 
that  within  a  reasonable  time  action  will  certainly  be  taken 
toward  that  end  or  at  least  some  measure  will  be  adopted  that 
will  impose  an  effective  and  salutary  restraint  upon  the  evil- 
doers whose  corrupt  actions  and  conduct  imperil  the  very 
sanctity,  of  our  homes. 

The  sub-committee  sent  the  following  letter  to  Cardinal 
Martinelli,  with  a  copy  of  the  foregoing  resolutions : 

In  discharge  of  the  duty  devolved  upon  us  we  herewith 
transmit  to  Your  Eminence  a  copy  of  the  resolutions  afore- 
said and  most  respectfully  but  urgently  solicit  immediate  at- 
tention and  as  early  response  as  the  convenience  of  Your 
Eminence  may  permit. 

Cardinal  Martinelli  refused,  point-blank,  to  take  any  no- 
tice of  the  Catholic  Laymen.  He  told  me  upon  one  occasion 
at  the  Delegation  Office  in  Washington :  "  Trie  laity  have  no 
right  to  interfere  with  the  clergy;  if  the  laity  understand  that 
they  have  any  rights,  they  will  do  in  America  as  they  once  did 
in  France  during  the  Revolution,  they  will  kill  the  clergy.  In 
this  independent  country  it  would  not  be  wise  to  let  the  laity  un- 
derstand that  they  have  any  rights  to  interfere  in  Church  mat- 
ters." My  reply  was :  "  Then  the  only  rights  you  concede  to 
the  laity  are  to  ' put  up  and  shut  up?"  "Just  so,"  he  said, 
"  and  one  of  the  principal  things  we  have  against  you,  Father 
Crowley,  is  that  you  are  enlightening  the  Catholic  laity  of  this 
country  as  to  their  rights;  the  laity  have  no  right  to  expose 
their  clergy,  no  matter  what  they  do ;  any  charges  by  the  laity 
against  priests  or  prelates  must  be  ignored;  and  any  spirit  of 
independence  in  the  laity  in  reference  to  Church  government 
must  be  crushed." 

As  a  further  illustration,  of  how  wicked  parochial  school 
principals  are  shielded  by  parochial  school  superintendents 
and  honored  by  the  Parochial  School  Board  of  Education, 
I  refer,  again  to  the  case  alluded  to  in  Chapter  II.  of  a  prom- 


UNIVERSITY 

SUPERINTENDENTS: 

inent  Church  dignitary  in  the  Philippine  Islands,  who  was 
formerly  a  noted  pastor  in  the  United  States.  While  he  was 
in  the  pastorate  in  America  he  was  accused  of  corrupting 
Protestant  and  Catholic  boys.  He  was  so  loathed  that  decent 
people  would  spit  when  they  saw  him  on  the  street.  The 
Church  authorities  knew  what  a  stench  he  was,  but  they  did 
not  discipline  him.  Finally  lay  people  confronted  him  with 
affidavits  setting  forth  his  bestialty,  and  they  threatened  him 
with  immediate  criminal  prosecution  if  he  did  not  leave  the 
city  forthwith.  Thereupon  he  left  his  parish  and  went  to  St. 
Louis,  Missouri,  and  finally  to  Rome,  where  he  secured  the 
friendship  and  favor  of  Princes  of  the  Church  by  a  liberal  use 
of  ill-gotten  money.  Before  he  went  to  Rome  he  had  de- 
frauded a  Catholic  loan  company  out  of  about  $80,000  and 
swindled  private  individuals  out  of  about  $20,000. 

He  procured  for  a  close  friend,  who  was  a  pastor  in 
America,  a  See  in  the  Philippine  Islands,  and  then  he  him- 
self received  a  desirable  appointment  in  that  Archipelago, 
where  he  now  resides  in  a  grand  palace  and  is  curing  souls. 

His  promotion  was  a  shock  to  the  good  people  of  the 
American  city  from  which  he  had  been  driven. 

By  virtue  of  his  present  title  he  is  to-day  a  member  of 
the  Pope's  household. 

Some  of  these  unworthy  parochial  school  principals  who 
are  shielded  by  the  superintendents  of  the  parochial  school, 
are  the  spiritual  advisers  of  prominent  female  academies,  or 
convent  schools,  to  which  Protestant  girls  are  sent. 

In  this  connection  it  may  interest  Protestant  parents, 
whose  daughters  are  convent  pupils,  to  read  the  following 
which  I  take  from  The  Catholic  Calendar  of  September,  1902 
(published  by  the  Holy  Name  Cathedral,  Chicago,  Illinois), 
page  1 1 : 

Why  do  many  Protestant  parents  send  their  daughters 
to  convent  schools  ?  In  order  that  their  innocence  may  be  safe- 
guarded while  their  mind  is  being  educated.  That  is  the  an- 
swer. The  parents  know  well  the  dangers  that  surround 


194  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

their  girls  in  secular  schools  and  fashionable  boarding  col- 
leges; they  know  also  that  in  the  Sisters'  care  their  darlings 
will  be  kept  from  evils.  Forbidden  knowledge  will  be  closed  to 
them.  Dangerous  books  will  not  be  allowed  in  their  hands. 
Improper  amusements  will  be  prohibited.  The  love  of  virtue 
will  be  inculcated.  Purity  will  be  reverenced.  Obedience 
will  be  made  a  habit.  Truthfulness  will  be  deemed  indispen- 
sable. Industry  will  be  honored  in  the  practice.  By  example 
as  well  as  by  precept,  goodness,  gentleness  and  gracefulness 
will  be  taught. 

MORAL  INCONSISTENCIES  OF  SUPERINTENDENTS. 

One  of  the  most  prominent  Archbishops  in  America  is 
renting  church  property  in  a  great  city  to  tenants,  who,  to  his 
knowledge,  use  it  for  base  and  immoral  purposes,  such  as  low 
saloons  (called  in  America  "barrel  houses"),  dance  halls  and 
brothels.  He  has  much"  to  say  against  socialism.  He  receives 
an  exorbitant  rent  from  these  disreputable  tenants  because 
of  the  immunity  they  enjoy  from  any  municipal  interference, 
through  the  political  pull  of  their  ecclesiastical  landlord. 

Children  of  tender  years  have  been  rescued  from  these 
evil  resorts.  Whatever  prosecution  of  the  proprietors  was 
started  came  to  an  untimely  end  through  the  powerful  influence 
of  His  Grace. 

How  can  this  parochial  school  superintendent  rebuke  his 
subordinates  when  they  know  of  his  renting  church  property 
for  such  base  purposes? 

He  is  particularly  outspoken  against  the  public  schoois. 
He  professes  to  stand  in  great  fear  of  the  rising  generations 
becoming  utterly  depraved  by  them.  The  only  hope  for  the 
welfare  of  this  Nation  which  he  can  discover  is  in  the  parochial 
school. 

He  is  »not  the  only  Catholic  ecclesiastic  in  his  Archdiocese, 
or  in  this  glorious  Republic,  who  is  drawing  a  revenue  from 
vicious  resorts. 

THOROUGH  SUPERVISION  PRACTICALLY  IMPOSSIBLE. 

In  a  large  Diocese  or  Archdiocese  it  is  practically  impos- 
sible for  the  Bishop  or  Archbishop  to  thoroughly  superintend 


SUPERINTENDENTS.  IQ5 

his  parochial  schools.    He  is  compelled  to  rely  upon  the  good 
faith  of  his  priests. 

This  is  particularly  so  in  an  Archdiocese  of  the  magnitude 
of  the  Chicago  Archdiocese,  whose  Archbishop  is  burdened 
with  manifold  spiritual  concerns,  and  financial  responsibilities. 

But  what  thorough  supervision  of  parochial  schools  can 
there  be  in  a  See  when  its  Bishop  or  Archbishop  is  incapaci- 
tated by  protracted  illness  or  advanced  age?  If  such  inca- 
pacitated Bishop  or  Archbishop  has  a  Coadjutor  Bishop,  with 
the  right  of  succession,  there  would  be  just  such  supervision 
of  the  parochial  schools  in  his  See  as  the  Coadjutor  Bishop 
cared  or  dared  to  bestow.  If  such  incapacitated  Bishop  or 
Archbishop  were  given  an  Auxiliary  Bishop,  there  would  be 
just  such  supervision  of  the  parochial  schools  in  his  See  as 
he  might  direct  his  Auxiliary  Bishop  to  give,  because  the  su- 
perintendency  of  parochial  schools  does  not  canonically  fall 
within  the  duties  of  an  Auxiliary  Bishop,  who  is  appointed 
chiefly  to  assist  his  Bishop  or  Archbishop  in  confirming  the 
children  of  the  See,  and  whose  position  is  so  temporary  and 
subordinate  that  he  holds  the  office  and  acts  solely  at  the  nod 
of  his  superior. 

The  Most  Rev.  Patrick  A.  Feehan,  the  late  Archbishop 
of  Chicago,  during  the  last  two  years  of  his  life,  was  so  weak 
in  body  and  mind  that  he  was  never  without  a  trained  nurse, 
day  or  night.  He  was  suffering  from  a  form  of  paralysis,  and 
was  so  incapacitated  that  his  signature  had  to  be  stenciled  on 
documents.  He  was  given  an  Auxiliary  Bishop  in  1899,  but 
this  official  unfortunately  was  in  a  shattered  condition  of  health 
and  was  able  to  render  him  but  very  little  assistance.  In  1901 
he  was  given  another  Auxiliary  Bishop.  Archbishop  Feehan 
died  in  July,  1902.  During  the  time  that  he  was  incapacitated 
there  "was  virtually  no  discipline  in  the  Archdiocese  of  Chica- 
go, and  many  of  the  priests  took  advantage  of  this  fact  to  do 
as  they  pleased ;  and  one  of  the  most  prominent  of  them,  who 
was  well  known  at  home  and  abroad,  and  who  was  leading 
a  dual  life,  managed  to  secure  several  important  Archdiocesan 


196  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

offices,  and  then,  by  forging  the  name  of  Archbishop  Feehan, 
he  secured  from  a  number  of  sources  large  sums  of  money,  ag- 
gregating many  thousand  dollars. 

Thorough  supervision  of  parochial  schools  in  any  See  is 
likely  to  be  wanting  at  almost  any  time  by  reason  of  the  inca- 
pacity, through  age  or  illness,  of  its  Bishop  or  Archbishop. 

PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL  SUPERINTENDENTS  ARE  NOT  ANSWERABLE 
TO  THE  AMERICAN  PEOPLE. 

To  whom  are  the  parochial  school  superintendents  re- 

/  sponsible  ?     They  are  directly  answerable  to  the  Vatican  author- 

l    ities.     The  Pope  has  never  seen  America,  and,  if  reports  be 

true,  does  not  understand  the  English  language,  and  hence 

cannot  read  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  without  the 

aid  of  a  translation  or  an  interpreter. 

The  supreme  head  of  the  parochial  school  system  in  the 
United  States  is  inevitably  an  Italian,  and  a  person  whose 
election  suits  France,  Spain  and  Austria.  The  College  of  Car- 
dinals has  its  majority  composed  of  Italians.  The  Church 
calls  itself  universal,  and  is  established  indeed  in  all  parts  of  the 
world,  but  any  Cardinal  who  is  not  an  Italian  has  no  more 
chance  to  become  Pope  than  he  has  to  become  President  of  the 
United  States.  France,  Spain  and  Austria  have  for  centuries 
exercised  in  the  Conclave  the  right  of  vetoing  any  candidate  for 
the  Papacy  whom  they  disliked.  The  Holy  Ghost,  if  He  acts 
at  all  in  the  selection  of  a  Pope,  must  consult  these  three  secu- 
lar governments.  Dr.  Alzog  says : 

The  great  Catholic  powers  have  continued  to  exercise 
a  greater  or  less  influence  on  papal  elections  down  to  our  day. 
(Dr.  Alzog's  Manual  of  Universal  Church  History,  Vol.  II., 
p.  484.) 

It  certainly  must  seem  to  the  American  people  an  anomaly 
that  France,  Spain  and  Austria  should  have  a  commanding 
voice  as  to  who  shall  be  the  supreme  head  of  a  system  of 
schools  in  the  United  States  of  America. 


SUPERINTENDENTS.  1 97 

It  is  said  that  the  present  Pope  has  decreed  that  these 
Catholic  powers  shall  no  longer  exercise  the  right  of  veto  in 
Papal  elections.  But  the  Catholic  powers  themselves  have 
not  so  agreed,  and  their  right  of  veto  can  hardly  be  terminated 
by  a  Pontifical  pronunciamento. 

A  Pertinent  Question. 

I  submit  to  the  American  people  this  question:  Is  it  to 
the  best  interests  of  the  Nation  that  a  multitude  (now  over 
a  million)  of  its  children  should  receive  their  secular  educa- 
tion in  schools  which  for  their  highest  supervision  are  subject 
to  ecclesiastics  whose  perpetual  residence  is  in  Europe,  who 
have  never  seen  the  shores  of  America,  who  are  strangers  to 
our  language,  our  customs  and  our  laws,  and  who  attack 
Americanisms  ? 


CHAPTER   V. 


THE     PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL    PRINCIPALS    AND    ASSISTANT 

PRINCIPALS. 


Parish  rectors  are  the  principals  of  parochial  schools; 
and  assistant  rectors  are  assistant  principals. 

If  a  parish  rector  is  a  drunken  or  an  immoral  priest,  then 
the  parochial  school  of  that  parish  has  a  drunken  or  an  im- 
moral principal.  If  the  pastor  is.  a  man  without  pedagogic 
ability,  then  his  school  has  an  incompetent  principal.  If  the 
pastor  is  mercenary  in  his  aims,  then  his  school  children  will 
be  compelled  to  further  his  selfish  and  reprehensible  under- 
takings, a  fact  fully  substantiated  by  the  history  of  many 
Catholic  church  fairs,  carnivals,  picnics  and  dances. 

The  parochial  school  principal  is  not  always  at  heart 
and  in  life  a  man  of  God.  The  majority  of  the  corrupt  pas- 
tors in  America  are  principals  of  parochial  schools. 

If  assistant  rectors  are  men  devoid  of  moral  character 
and  pedagogic  training,  then  parochial  schools  have  assistant 
principals  who  are  unworthy.  If  assistant  rectors  happen  to 
be  good  men,  they  can  do  nothing  for  the  betterment  of  the 
parochial  school  if  the  principal  is  unworthy,  because  they 
are  wholly  in  his  power. 

Proper  care  is  not  exercised  by  prelates  in  the  adop- 
tion of  candidates  for  the  sacred  ministry,  and  hence  the  paro- 
chial schools  are  provided  with  unworthy  principals  and  as- 
sistant principals.  Men  are  adopted,  educated  and  ordained 
who  should  never  be  intrusted  with  the  cure  of  souls  or  the 
secular  training  of  children. 

It  is  well  known  to  those  who  are  conversant  with  cur- 
rent events  in  France,  and  familiar  with  her  history,  that  the 


PRINCIPALS.  t        IQQ 

hostile  attitude  of  the  French  Government  toward  the  Cath- 
olic Church  is  largely  due  to  the  deterioration  of  the  Catholic 
clergy  in  France.  There  was  a  time  when  the  noblest  Catholic 
families  in  France  were  proud  to  have  their  sons  ordained 
to  the  priesthood.  What  is  the  situation  in  that  glorious  Re- 
public to-day?  It  is  this:  The  majority  of  its  priests  come 
from  the  families  which  occupy  the  lowest  places  in  the  social 
scale ;  and  the  sad  result  is  seen  in  the  existence  of  a  woefully 
deteriorated  priesthood.  A  similar  condition  obtains  in  Amer- 
ica. Far  be  it  from  me  to  say  a  word  in  disparagement  of  the 
worthy  poor.  I  know  that  nobleness  of  manhood  and  woman- 
hood is  found  in  the  humblest  dwellings  of  men.  I  know  that 
in  the  galaxy  of  America's  heroes  the  names  'of  men,  who  were 
the  children  of  poverty,  shine  with  unfading  lustre.  I  rejoice 
in  the  fact  that  America  is  the  poor  man's  opportunity.  But 
honest  poverty  is  one  thing  and  vicious  poverty  is  another. 
The  children  of  the  former  can  be  trusted,  as  a  rule,  with  any 
office  which  is  within  their  capacity  in  Church  or  State;  but 
the  children  of  the  latter,  in  the  nature  of  things,  cannot  be 
equally  trusted.  "  A  silken  purse  cannot  be  made  out  of  a 
sow's  ear." 

Are  American  bishops  and  archbishops  careful  in  the  ac- 
ceptance of  candidates  for  the  priesthood?  They  are  not. 
Young  men,  whose  homes  have  been  evil  and  whose  associates 
have  been  vicious,  are  adopted,  educated  and  ordained  for  the 
sacred  priesthood  of  the  Catholic  Church.  I  say  it  is  wrong. 
It  is  a  sowing  to  the  wind  and  the  harvest  will  be  the  whirl- 
wind. Throughout  America  are  priests  and  prelates  whose 
antecedents  would  keep  any  reputable  bond  company  from 
bonding  them  for  responsible  positions  in  secular  employment. 
The  Catholic  Church  in  America  adopts  unworthy  men,  edu- 
cates them,  ordains  them,  and  even  honors  them  with  episco- 
pal authority — that  is,  makes  them  parochial  school  assistant 
principals,  principals  and  superintendents.  Even  bastards  are 
ordained  to  the  priesthood  in  the  United  States. 


2OO  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

i 

America  is  cursed  with  priests  of  foreign  birth  and  train- 
ing who  were  sent  to  America,  to  relieve  their  native  dioceses 
of  the  scandal  of  their  unpriestly  conduct.  A  priest  who  does 
wrong  in  Europe  should  never  be  entrusted  with  the  cure  of 
souls  in  America.  The  United  States  Government  sends  back 
immigrants  who  are  not  up  to  a  fixed  standard  in  health,  wealth 
and  character.  The  Catholic  Church  in  America  should  have 
a  department  of  ecclesiastical  immigration,  and  any  priest  who 
has  broken  his  vows^  across  the  sea  should  be  refused  adoption 
here.  America  should  not  be  made  a  dumping  ground  for 
fallen  foreign  priests. 

The  parish  rector  has  full  control  of  the  parish  moneys. 
His  word  is  law.  He  collects  and  spends  according  to  his  own 
good  pleasure.  He  is  supposed  to  report  annually  to  his  bish- 
op, archbishop  or  cardinal.  But  does  he?  Well,  when  he 
does,  his  report  would  not  stand  the  scrutiny  of  a  fifth  rate 
auditor.  Some  pastors  make  an  annual  pretence  of  giving  to 
their  congregations  a  report  of  receipts  and  expenditures  for 
the  year,  but  those  who  have  inside  knowledge  of  the  making 
up  of  such  reports  know  that  they  are  monumental  pieces  of 
deception.  Many  priests  never  even  make  a  pretence  of  re- 
porting. Sometimes  nominal  trustees  are  appointed  for  a 
"  blind,"  but  in  reality  the  laity  have  no  voice  in  the  temporal  af- 
fairs of  their  parish.  They  dare  not  ask  for  a  complete  finan- 
cial report.  All  they  can  do  is  "  to  pay  up  and  shut  up."  It 
hardly  requires  any  special  penetration  to  see  what  an  oppor- 
tunity for  grafting  such  a  condition  of  things  affords  a  mer- 
cenary priest. 

My  observations  lead  me  to  the  conclusion  that  not  two 
per  cent,  of  the  parochial  school  principals  could  pass  an  or- 
dinary examination  for  a  public  school  principal. 

The  public  school  excels  the  parochial  school  in  com- 
pelling its  principals  and  assistant  principals  to  observe  in 
public  life  a  higher  ethical  standard  than  that  followed  by  the 
parochial  school  principals  and  assistant  principals.  If  the 
principal  of  a  Chicago  public  school  got  drunk,  or  if  he  were 


PRINCIPALS,      ^  2OI 

discovered  to  be  a  silent  partner  in  a  liquor  saloon,  he  would 
be  ousted.  This  is  not  the  case  with  the  parochial  school  prin- 
cipal. Charges  of  immorality  against  a  public  school  prin- 
cipal would  be  sifted  to  the  bottom ;  such  charges  against  paro- 
chial school  principals  are  thrown  into,  wastebaskets. 

I  venture  to  say  that  no  public  school  principal  who  was 
known  to  have  ever  been  guilty  of  immorality  could  hope  to 
obtain  a  position  again  anywhere  in  the  United  States.  His 
offence  would  be  a  perpetual  bar.  This  is  not  at  all  the  case 
with  an  immoral  pafochial  school  principal. 

If  a  priest  gives  public  scandal,  he  is  whitewashed  by  his 
bishop,  or  he  is  sent,  perhaps,  to  make  a  religious  retreat  for 
a  few  days,  and  then  he  returns  to  his  parish,  or  he  is  trans- 
ferred to  another  parish  in  that  diocese,  or  he  is  sent  to  some 
other  diocese  where  he  may  assume  another  name  to  escape 
the  service  of  criminal  or  civil  process.  This  course  in  effect 
means  no  punishment  for  sin,  and  it  affords  no  protection  to 
the  Catholic  people  from  ecclesiastical  rascals.  In  an  Ameri- 
can Archdiocese  a  pastor,  who  had  a  parochial  school,  se- 
duced his  ward;  he  was  denounced  publicly  in  his  church  at 
Sunday  morning  Mass;  but  he  was  simply  transferred  to  an- 
other parish.  The  same  treatment  was  accorded  by  his  ec- 
clesiastical superiors  to  a  priestly  sodomite.  If  a  priest  runs 
away  with  a  woman  he  still*  retains  his  priestly  faculties ;  and 
if  he  deserts  her  and  seeks  an  appointment  he  has  no  particular 
difficulty  in  securing  a  parish,  even  though  they  had  been 
legally  married. 

Failure  to  punish  sinning  priests  is  working  incalculable 
harm  to  the  Catholic  Church.  There  is  not  a  Protestant  sect 
in  America  that  deals  with  its  immoral  clergymen  in  this  loose 
way.  If  a  Protestant  clergyman  seduced  a  young  lady,  would 
he  be  transferred  to  another  church  ?  Nay,  he  would  be  kicked 
out  of  his  denomination.  Why  should  Catholic  priests  who 
sin  receive  any  less  rigorous  treatment? 

I  humbly  urge  upon  the  Catholic  Church  the  necessity 
of  dealing  sternly  with  sinful  priests  and  prelates.  A  wicked 


202  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

priest,  even  though  he  repents,  should  never  be  entrusted  with 
the  care  of  souls.  He  should  be  consigned  to  a  monastery, 
and  he  should  never  be  permitted  "to  officiate  publicly  at  the 
altar,  or  to  sit  in  the  confessional — to  serve  as  a  parochial 
school  superintendent,  principal  or  assistant  principal. 

PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL  PRINCIPALS  SHIELD  EACH  OTHER. 

Another  point,  which  must  not  be  overlooked,  will  help 
the  public  to  a  clearer  understanding  of  the  disabilities  of  the 
parochial  school  by  reason  of  its  principals.  Catholic  priests 
shield  each  other.  The  immoral  cleric  is  shielded  by  his  moral 
as  well  as  his  immoral  brother  priests.  This  indicates  the 
false  code  of  honor  which  prevails  in  the  Catholic  priesthood. 
It  is  a  code  which  is  uncanonical  and  unchristian.  Neverthe- 
less, it  even  dominates  the  course  of  decent  priests  and  com- 
pels them  to  condone  and  cover  up  offences  which  should  send 
their  perpetrators  to  the  penitentiary.  How  can  the  parochial 
school  get  rid  of  an  unworthy  principal  when  priests  and  pre- 
lates ate  his  devoted  protectors  and  champions?  And  this 
leads  me  to  say  that  this  false  code  should  be  relentlessly  as- 
sailed. Publicity  is  purity.  Secrecy  is  sin. 

I  am  happy  to  be  able  to  quote  the  eminent  Cardinal 
Manning  in  support  of  my  views  concerning  this  subject. 
From  the  Life  of  Cardinal  Manning,  Archbishop  of  West- 
minster by  Edmund  Sheridan  Purcell,  (Member  of  the  Roman 
Academy  of  Letters),  I  quote  as  follows: 

Cardinal  Manning  himself — and  that  is  enough — has  laid 
down  a  rule  against  concealing  the  sins  or  shortcomings  of 
Bishops  and  others  in  the  following  words,  spoken  on  the  oc- 
casion of  his  final  visit  to  Rome  in  1883,  to  Pope  Leo  XIII : — • 
"  If  the  Evangelist  did  not  conceal  the  sin  and  fall  of  Judas, 
neither  ought  we  to  conceal  the  sins  of  Bishops  and  of  other 
personages."  (Foot-note)  :  The  Pope  in  his  conversation 
with  Cardinal  Manning,  reprobated  the  vicious  system  of  sup- 
pressing or  glossing  over  facts  in  history,  sacred  or  profane, 
or  in  the  lives  of  men,  Saints  or  sinners,  as  repugnant  to 


PRINCIPALS.  2O3 

truth  and  justice,  and  in  the  long  run,  as  detrimental  to  the 
spiritual  interests  of  the  Church.     (Vol.  II.,  p.  755.) 

•* 

PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL  PRINCIPALS  ARE  CHEAP  POLITICIANS. 

Our  great  American  cities  are  cursed  with  municipal  cor- 
ruption. From  my  knowledge  of  the  undercurrent  of  things 
I  assert  that  Catholic  parochial  school  principals  are  at  the 
bottom  of  American  municipal  corruption.  They  have  gone 
into  politics ;  and  they  are  wire  pullers  at  the  caucuses,  at  the 
conventions  and  at  the  primaries.  They  succeed  in  getting 
their  henchmen  into  various  civic  offices.  This  political  work 
is  not  done  through  purely  benevolent  motives.  They  make 
money  out  of  it.  A  clerical  politician  is  none  other  than  a 
priest  who  is  corrupt  at  heart.  He  abandons  the  spiritual  in- 
terests committed  to  his  care,  and,  consumed  by  an  unholy  de- 
sire to  amass  wealth,  he  plunges  headlong  into  political  chican- 
ery for  the  graft  that  is  in  it. 

"  GET  RICH  QUICK  "  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL  PRINCIPALS. 

The  vast  majority  of  Catholic  priests  are  investors  in 
various  "  get  rich  quick  "  concerns.  Gold,  silver  and  copper 
mines  are  very  attractive  to  them,  and  in  many  of  these  mines 
the  only  ore  is  the  coin  put  in  by  the  mercenary  priests  and 
other  gullible  people.  The  more  knowing  priests  do  not  in- 
vest, but  give  the  use  of  their  names  for  blocks  of  stock ;  and 
prospectuses  are  prepared  containing  copies  of  signed  letters 
of  endorsement  by  these  God-fearing  ecclesiastics.  This  print- 
ed matter  is  sent  to  their  parishioners,  and  on  the  stock  sold 
to  them  these  pastors  receive  a  commission.  Often  these  cler- 
ics personally  solicit  or  advise  their  parishioners  to  invest  in 
speculative  stocks,  and  the  properties  may  exist  on  paper  only. 
These  priests  are  frequently  directors  in  these  mining  corpora- 
tions, and  church  presbyteries  often  serve  for  meeting  places 
for  the  boards  of  directors. 

These  pastors  often  have  parishes  overwhelmed  with  debts 
which  run  into  many  thousands  of  dollars,  and  they  continually 
cry  for  money.  Sunday  after  Sunday  they  command  their 


204  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

people  to  give  money.  Money,  indeed,  is  their  only  gospel! 
When  they  are  not  at  home  their  assistants  take  up  the  cry, 
and  woe  betides  them  if  they  do  not  cry  lustily,  for  the  pastor's 
relatives  report  any  half-heartedness.  What  becomes  of  the 
money?  Ask  the  pastor,  not  the  people — the  people  do  not 
know.  The  money  goes  into  the  bank  accounts  of  the  rector 
and  his  relatives,  and  it  is  used  for  all  kinds  of  speculations. 
From  reliable  data  I  am  convinced  that  over  fifty  per  cent  of 
the  Catholic  clergy  are  investors  in  "  get  rich  quick  "  schemes. 
Many  of  them  are  investors  in  listed  speculative  stocks,  and 
their  first  office  in  the  morning  is  to  examine  the  stock  quota- 
tions. When  the  market  goes  against  them  they  usually  an- 
nounce a  special  collection  on  the  following  Sunday  for  some 
special  object,  such  as  prospective  repairs  to  the  church,  or 
to  the  presbytery,  or  to  the  parochial  school  building. 

A  few  years  ago  there  were  two  brothers  who  formed  a 
mining  company.  They  belonged  to  a  most  prominent  parish, 
which  was  conducted  by  a  Religious  Order.  They  made  gen- 
erous contributions  to  all  the  collections,  and  liberally  patron- 
ized the  parish  fair,  picnics  and  dances.  They  gave  the  pastor 
blocks  of  stock  for  his  recommendation  of  their  mining  scheme ; 
and  men  of  that  parish  and  of  the  adjacent  parishes  bought 
mining  stock.  Men  mortgaged  their  homes  to  obtain  money 
to  invest.  Suddenly  it  was  ascertained  that  the  wonderful 
mine  was  simply  a  hole  in  the  ground.  Brave,  noble  women 
of  the  parish  went  en  masse  to  the  presbytery,  rang  the  bell, 
and,  no  response  being  made,  broke  in  the  door  and  horse- 
whipped the  pastor,  who  was  the  head  of  the  Religious'  Com- 
munity. There  was  press  publicity  of  the  assault,  but  there 
was  no  legal  prosecution.  This  pastor  is  an  Examiner  of 
the  Clergy. 

LIBERAL  PATRONS  OF  THE  ARTS  AND  SCIENCES  AT  WORLD'S 

FAIRS. 

A  multitude  of  priests  attended  the  World's  Fair  which 
was  held  in  Chicago  in  1893.  They  sought  the  educating  and 


PRINCIPALS.  2O5 

refining  influences  of  that  "  White  City."  Their  parishioners 
were  glad  to  see  them  go  to  it,  and  contributed  towards  their 
expenses.  The  majority  of  these  clerical  visitors  behaved  in 
a  scandalous  way.  They  frequented  houses  of  shame ;  they 
patronized  gambling  dens;  many  of  them  were  arrested  and 
booked  under  fictitious  names.  Some  of  them  got  crazy  drunk 
in  their  hotels  and  ran  around  the  corridors  naked.  Neverthe- 
less, some  of  these  ecclesiastical  sinners  officiated  on  Sundays 
in  the  various  Chicago  churches,  kindly  substituting  for  their 
brethren  who  had  gone  elsewhere  for  a  summer's  recreation. 

From  the  data  which  I  have  received  the  harlots  of  St. 
Louis,  during  the  great  fair  now  in  progress  there,  are  getting 
a  greater  percentage  of  patronage  from  Catholic  parochial 
school  principals  and  assistant  principals  than  from  the  male 
sinners  of  any  other  vocation,  occupation  or  profession. 

In  this  connection  I  relate  a  conversation  I  had  with 
a  most  prominent  American  archbishop,  who  is,  indeed,  an 
aspirant  to  a  seat  in  the  College  of  Cardinals.  I  said  to  him: 
"  Your  Grace,  as  I  was  going  to  my  hotel  last  night  a  hack- 
man  said :  '  How  are  things  coming  with  you,  father  ? '  I 
said  to  the  hackman :  '  Very  well ! '  He  said :  '  You  are  up 
against  a  tough  proposition;  the  priests  are  a  tough  bunch/ 
I  said :  '  .What  do  you  know  about  them  ?  '  He  said :  '  I  have 
not  been  a  hackman  for  the  last  twenty  years  right  down  in 
the  heart  of  the  city  without  knowing  a  good  deal  about  them ; 
I  frequently  drive  them  down  to  the  levee  district  at  night,  and 
whenever  I  take  one  down  I  can  sleep  for  a  month/  I  said: 
'  What  do  you  mean  by  that  ? '  He  said :  '  I  get  a  rake  off 
from  the  house  of  ill-fame,  a  certain  percentage/  I  said :  '  A 
percentage  of  what  ?  '  He  said :  '  A  percentage  of  the  amount 
which  he  spends  in  the  house/  I  said :  '  In  what  way  ?  '  He 
said :  '  On  the  girls,  buying  wine  for  the  girls,  setting  up  the 
can-can,  and  for  the  other  things  which  go  with  such  doings; 
the  priests  are  the  best  spenders  I  meet;  their  money  comes 
easy  and  they  let  it  go  easy/  I  said :  '  How  do  you  reckon 
your  percentage  from  the  house  ? '  He  said :  '  I  size  the  fel- 


206  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

low  up  pretty  well ;  I  have  an  idea  of  how  much  he  wants, 
and  of  how  much  he  is  going  to  spend;  and  the  people  who 
run  those  houses  are  pretty  square  people ;  any  way  they  know 
that  if  they  don't  deal  square  with  us  we  will  take  the  business 
to  some  other  house,  so  you  see  they  have  got  to  be  on  the 
square  with  us.' "  This  hackman  was  a  Catholic.  I  then 
told  the  Archbishop  about  another  case.  I  said :  "  A  Catholic 
hackman  stopped  me  a  short  time  ago  and  said :  '  How  are 
the  boys  getting  on,  Father?'  I  said:  'What  boys?'  He 
said :  '  The  priests.'  I  said :  '  I  believe  they  are  improving ! ! ' 
He  said :  '  It  is  pretty  hard  to  change  them ;  they  are  a  tough 
class;  it  is  little  the  people  know  about  them;  in  fact  if  you 
tell  them  anything  about  them  they  won't  believe  it ;  they  will 
call  you  an  A.  P.  A.  if  you  tell  them  anything  about  their 
clergy;  when  I  was  a  boy  I  attended  the  Catholic  schools  in 
this  city,  and  at  that  time  I,  too,  would  not  believe  anything 
bad  about  them,  but  after  I  got  into  the  hack  business  my  eyes 
were  opened.  One  night  I  was  engaged  by  a  few  gentlemen 
to  take  them  down  the  line  onto  Wabash  Avenue  to  a  certain 
house  of  ill- fame ;  I  drove  them  there ;  they  got  out  of  the  car- 
riage and  paid  me  for  my  services,  and  I  waited  awhile  and 
went  then  right  into  the  house  to  get  my  percentage  for  bring- 
ing them  there;  well,  good  God,  to  my  great  surprise  who 
should  come  down  the  stairs  but  a  priest  of  my  then  parish, 
and  now  a  prominent  Chicago  pastor ;  he  said  to  me :  '  Hello 
there,  Patrick,  what  are  you  doing  around  here  ? '  Then  I 
screwed  up  my  courage  and  I  said :  '  I  am  here  on  business ; 
what  are  you  doing  around  here  ?  '  He  said : "  '  I  am  here  see- 
ing the  sights.'  Now,  I  tell  you,  father,  that  was  my  first  eye- 
opener,  and  my  eyes  have  been  kept  open  ever  since ;  but  when 
I  told  that  to  some  of  my  friends  they  did  not  believe  me  and 
called  me  all  sorts  of  names  and  warned  me  against  giving 
scandal  by  telling  that  to  anybody  else,  and  they  said  that  if 
I  did  I  would  get  into  trouble ;  so  realizing  how  hard  it  is  to 
persuade  the  Catholic  people  that  there  is  anything  wrong  with 


PRINCIPALS.  2O7 

these  fellows  I  made  up  my  mind  that  the  best  thing  I  could 
do  was  to  keep  my  mouth  shut." 

The  Archbishop  then  told  me  about  one  of  his  experiences. 
He  said :  "  Yes,  hackmen  know  a  great  deal  about  us ;  they 
have  seen  a  lot ;  they  are  in  a  way  to  see  it ;  why,  down  at  my 
former  diocese  there  were  two  hackmen,  father  and  son,  who 
were  Catholics  once,  but  owing  to  what  they  saw  amongst  the 
clergy  they  lost  the  faith.  When  the  old  man  was  dying, 
his  wife,  unknown  to  him,  sent  for  me  to  give  him  the  last 
rites  of  the  Church ;  I  went  there,  and  as  I  was  entering  the 
door  of  his  bedroom  the  old  man  cried  out :  '  For  God's  sake, 
don't  come  into  this  room !  I  don't  want  you ! '  I  said : 
'  Don't  you  want  me,  aren't  you  dying  ?  '  He  said :  '  Yes,  I  am 
dying,  but  I  am  at  peace  with  my  God,  with  my  country  and 
with  myself,  and  I  don't  want  to  have  anything  to  do  with 
you  nor  the  likes  of  you;  I  know  too  much  about  priests;  I 
have  driven  lots  of  them  to  bad  houses;  for  God's  sake,  don't 
come  in !  I  don't  want  to  be  reminded  by  your  presence  of 
those  things  now  when  I  am  dying ! '  I  saw  that  the  old  man 
was  thoroughly  in  earnest,  and,  not  caring  to  debate  the  mat- 
ter with  him  for  fear  the  people  in  the  house  might  overhear 
what  he  had  to  say,  I  turned  on  my  heel  and  walked  away." 
The  Archbishop  continued :  "  Hackmen,  policemen,  firemen, 
street  car  and  railway  men  know  a  great  deal  about  us;  they 
see  a  great  deal,  they  are  in  the  way  of  knowing  it,  but  for- 
tunately the  poor  fellows  keep  it  to  themselves." 

The  fact  is  that  when  a  man  of  any  of  the  foregoing  classes 
dies,  his  pastor  and  the  assistants  exert  themselves  to  show 
all  possible  honor  to  his  memory,  particularly  by  the  delivery 
of  a  most  flattering  funeral  sermon.  If  the  deceased  died  with- 
out the  last  sacraments,  or  even  refused  them,  greater  exer- 
tions are  made.  These  honors  are  paid  to  the  deceased  to 
shut  the  mouths  of  his  relatives  in  case  he  may  have  told  them 
of  the  clerical  misconduct  he  had  seen.  High  church  digni- 
taries often  grace  these  funeral  occasions. 


208  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

NAUTICAL  CLERICS. 

• 

In  the  United  States  there  are  parochial  school  principals 
who  are  very  fond  of  the  water.  They  enjoy  trips  on  the  pala- 
tial steamers  which  ride  the  waters  of  the  inland  lakes,  the 
great  rivers  and  the  ocean.  They  are  also  much  given  to 
yachting.  During  the  summer  time  their  health,  impaired  by 
arduous  service  in  their  parochial  schools,  demands  frequent 
visits  to  the  various  beaches.  I  have  heard  fanatics  predict 
that  the  Atlantic  coast  would  be  submerged  some  day  as  a 
punishment  by  an  offended  God ;  I  have  been  amused  by  their 
weird  predictions;  but  as  I  think  of  the  immorality  and  bes- 
tiality of  these  nautical  clerics,  records  galore  being  in  my  pos- 
session, I  really  marvel  that  such  a  cataclysm  does  not  happen. 

Catholic  travelers,  watch  the  priest  on  shipboard !  Watch 
him  closely!  If  you  wrill  look  sharply  you  will  see  a  priest 
and  a  woman.  He  may  call  her  his  "  sister,"  or  "  niece/'  or 
"  cousin,"  but  as  a  rule  she  is  not. 

The  officers  of  the  Atlantic  liners  tell  many  sickening  facts 
in  connection  with  nautical  clerics.  Many  an  ecclesiastical 
voyager  has  found  himself  in  irons  before  the  end  of  the  voy- 
age to  protect  the  passengers  and  himself  from  his  drunken 
frenzy. 

What  these  nautical  clerics  do  not  know  about  poker  and 
other  gambling  games  on  their  voyages  Satan  does  not  know. 
They  usually  travel  incognito  in  both  dress  and  name,  but  when 
the  liquor  gets  into  them  they  betray  their  clerical  character 
by  attempting  to  assert  their  priestly  jurisdiction. 

Dealers  in  Smut. 

There  are  priests  in  America  who  are  considered  special- 
ists in  retailing  smutty  stories,  the  foundations  of  which  they 
learn  in  the  confessional. 

In  Catholic  theological  seminaries  in  America  students 
form  associations  (not  sanctioned  by  the  seminary  authorities) 
in  which  membership  depends  upon  the  applicant's  ability  to 


PRINCIPALS,  2O9 

tell  stories  of  a  prescribed  degree  of  nastiness.     A  priest  told 
me  that  it  took  him  three  years  to  get  admitted. 

Brazen  Hypocrites. 

There  are  Catholic  priests  and  prelates  who  are  at  the 
head  of  various  Catholic  temperance  societies,  and  others  who 
are  famed  as  temperance  advocates,  who  get  drunk  a d  libitum. 
They  deliver  stirring  addresses  at  temperance  meetings,  and 
then  they  are  put  to  bed  the  same  night  drunk. 

Catholic  priests  in  America  impose  severe  penance  upon 
penitents  who  have  eaten  meat  on  proscribed  days,  but  these 
priests  do  not  scruple  when  they  are  outside  of  their  parishes 
(and  inside  when  the  housekeeper  is  trustworthy)  to  break 
the  law  of  the  Church  concerning  days  of  fasting  and  absti- 
nence, and  many  of  them  even  break  their  fast  before  they  say 
Mass. 

Some  priests,  who  have  a  little  conscience  left,  and  who 
have  not  wholly  lost  the  faith,  winter  in  Mexico  where  the 
Church  permits  Catholics  to  eat  meat  on  those  proscribed 
days — even  on  Friday ! 

MALODOROUS  PEDAGOGIC  SAMPLES. 

So  far  I  have  discussed  in  a  general  way  the  principals 
and  the  assistant  principals  of  the  parochial  schools.  I  now 
deal  specifically  with  some  of  these  clerical  educators,  designat- 
ing  each  by  a  numeral  and  some  suggested  title.  The  cases 
I  describe  I  have  selected  at  random  from  the  hundreds  which 
I  have  listed.  They  are  but  average  samples,  and  are  scattered 
over  America. 

My  readers  may  wonder  why  I  do  not  give  the  names  and 
addresses  of  these  clerical  sinners,  and  of  other  wicked  ec- 
clesiastics to  whom  I  have  referred.  I  do  not  do  so  out  of 
regard  for  the  opinion  of  my  advisers.  My  clerical  counsellors 
assert  that  since  many,  if  not  all,  of  these  names  are  now  on 
file  in  formal  charges  at  the  Vatican,  and  since  the  present 
Pope,  Pius  X.,  has  hardly  had  an  adequate  opportunity  to 


2IO  THE   PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

familiarize  himself  with  the  details  of  these  charges,  in  order 
to  canonically  deal  with  the  accused,  it  would  be  disrespectful 
to  His  Holiness  to  give  to  the  world  the  names  and  addresses. 
My  lay  counsellors  solemnly  declare  that  there  is  grave  like- 
lihood that  such  publicity  would  lead  to  the  burning  of  churches 
and  the  lynching  of  priests  by  an  infuriated  Catholic  people. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  I  describe  some  of  these  cases  at 
greater  length  than  others.  The  shorter  length  is  not  due 
to  a  lack  of  material.  I  do  not  care  to  nauseate  my  readers, 
and  so  I  give  a  few  cases  at  greater  length  simply  to  illustrate 
what  might  be  said  about  each  of  these  malodorous  peda- 
gogues. 

The  cases  which  I  now  cite  may  seem  improbable  to  my 
readers  by  reason  of  their  awfulness ;  but  I  solemnly  declare 
that  I  am  conservative  in  my  statements,  and  that  the  cases 
which  I  now  describe  are  in  reality  infinitely  worse  than  they 
appear  here. 

If  I  should  give  the  full  story  in  every  day  speech  con- 
cerning each  of  these  malodorous  pedagogic  samples,  this  book 
would  be  so  nasty  that  it  could  not  be  circulated.  It  is  my 
desire  to  tell  the  truth  in  chaste  language,  and,  therefore,  I  take 
as  my  literary  guides  the  celebrated  Catholic  historians,  Dr. 
Alzog  and  Dr.  Pastor  (from  whose  works  I  quoted  in  Chapter 
III),  and  I  trust  that  my  descriptions  of  clerical  depravi- 
ty will  equal  in  refinement  the  similar  portrayals  of  these  emi- 
nent authors. 

Rev.  No.  i.    A  Forger. 

In  the  autumn  of  1903  a  priest  of  international  repute  dis- 
appeared. He  had  robbed  his  parish  and  Archdiocese  of  about 
$750,000,  and  this  largely  through  forging  the  name  of  his 
Archbishop. 

Why  is  he  not  prosecuted?  Why  is  he  not  punished  in 
conformity  with  the  canons  of  the  Church?  Is  it  possible  that 
he  knows  some  startling  things  which  his  Archbishop  fears  he 
might  reveal  to  the  world?  Can  it  be  that  even  now  he  is 
drawing  hush  money  from  his  Archdiocese  ? 


PRINCIPALS. 

October  i6th,  1901,  he  offered  me  $50,000  to  induce  me  not 
to  expose  his  dual  life  in  any  forthcoming  book.  I  said  to 
him  then :  "  If  you  dare  to  make  that  offer  to  me  again  I  will 
take  you  by  the  nape  of  the  neck  to  the  police  station."  At 
that  time  he  was  living  in  adultery  with  a  married  woman 
whom  he  had  estranged  from  her  husband  and  established  in 
a  palatial  home. 

He  was  an  ardent  champion  of  the  parochial  school  and 
a  fierce  denunciator  of  the  American  policy  in  the  Philippines. 
He  was  the  principal  of  a  parochial  school  which  had  21  nuns 
and  750  pupils. 

His  influence  was  eagerly  sought  by  politicians,  and  he 
was  once  urged  to  run  for  Congress. 

Since  he  has  become  a  fugitive  he  has  been  teaching  in  a 
Catholic  college,  and  has  been  .giving  missions,  under  an  as- 
sumed name,  to  convert  Protestants. 

Rev.  No.  2. — A  National  Character. 

His  parochial  school  has  over  a  thousand  pupils.  In  the 
winter  season  he  is  very  fond  of  providing  sleighing  parties 
for  the  young  ladies  of  his  school,  and  he  always  arranges  it 
so  that  there  is  a  lack  of  at  least  one  seat.  The  consequence  is 
that  one  young  lady  rides  in  the  pastor's  lap.  This  rector  is 
one  of  the  most  lecherous  of  the  lewd  members  of  the  priest- 
hood. 

He  constantly  attends  and  "  plays  "  the  races.  He  won 
$60,000  on  one  race.  He  is  an  habitue  of  race-tracks,  gambling 
houses  and  brothels.  He  is  a  national  character. 

His  "  O.  K."  is  omnipotent.  Gamblers  have  to  secure  it 
in  order  to  run  their  houses  in  his  section  of  his  city ;  and  can- 
didates for  the  priesthood  have  to  obtain  it  to  get  ordained. 

This  man  has  been  guilty,  on  land  and  sea,  of  unprintable 
lewdness.  He  presented  one  of  his  mistresses  with  a  belt,  each 
link  being  a  twenty-dollar  gold  piece.  He  is  reputed  to  be 
worth  about  a  million  dollars. 


212  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

Caught  in  flagrante  delicto  he  said :  "  I  never  believed  in 
celibacy,  I  never  preached  it,  never  practiced  it,  and  never  will. 
It's  a  humbug." 

Rev.  No.  j."   A  Lover  of  Fast  Horses  and  Fast  Women. 

He  has  in  his  parochial  sch'ool  over  1,500  children.  He 
keeps  a  city  house  and  a  country  residence.  He  is  devoted 
to  fast  horses  and  fast  women.  In  the  country  he  is  known 
as  "  Mr.  West " ;  and  one  of  his  temporary  better  halves  as 
"  Mrs.  West." 

Rev.  No.  4.    A  Grocer. 

He  is  a  priest  who  eloped  with  a  young  woman.  He  is 
living  with  her  and  running  a  grocery.  She  has  borne  him 
three  children.  He  said.  Mass  the  morning  the  first  baby  was 
born.  Any  time  he  will  abandon  the  woman  he  can  return 
to  parochial  school  duties,  for  "  Once  a  priest  always  a  priest." 

In  the  parish  from  which  he  eloped  the  parochial  school 
had  over  600  pupils. 

His  name  appears  in  the  issue  of  the  Catholic  Directory 
and  Clergy  List  of  1904,  although  his  ecclesiastical  superiors 
are  fully  aware  of  his  misconduct. 

After  his  elopement  he  solicited  offerings  by  mail  for 
Masses  for  souls  in  purgatory  and  undoubtedly  made  a  nice 
little  sum  in  this  way. 

Rev.  No.  5.    A  Pugilist. 

After  his  ordination  he  served  as  an  assistant  pastor  in 
numerous  parishes,  where  he  acted  as  assistant  parochial 
school  principal. 

He  was  finally  appointed  pastor  of  a  country  parish  and 
its  outlying  missions,  which  parish  had  been  vacant  nine 
months  on  account  of  the  sudden  disappearance  of  its  rector, 
who  had  been  drunk  most  of  the  time  for  five  years  and  who 
was  accused  of  a  criminal  assault  upon  two  little  girls. 

At  his  first  appearance  he  told  the  people  from  the  altar 


PRINCIPALS. 

k 

during  Mass  that  they  had  a  very  bad  name  with  the  Arch- 
bishop and  priests  of  the  Archdiocese,  so  bad,  in  fact,  that 
priests  did  not  care  to  come  and  labor  among  them;  that  he 
was  the  only  priest  with  sufficient  zeal  and  faith  to  volunteer 
to  undertake  the  work  of  the  cure  of  their  souls,  and  that  if 
they  interfered  in  any  way  with  his  plans  or  reported  him 
to  headquarters  he  would  lock  up  the  church,  leave  the  place 
and  they  would  never  get  another  pastor.  This  cowed  the 
people.  He  succeeded,  by  underhand  means,  in  getting  an- 
other town  attached  to  his  parish.  This  gave  him  a  large  ter- 
ritory for  his  operations.  He  adopted  every  means  to  raise 
money.  He  held  missions,  fairs,  picnics,  sociables,  euchre 
parties  and  barn  dances,  which  he  advertised  through  the 
parish  by  hand-bills,  placards,  and  the  press.  Depraved  women 
came  from  surrounding  cities  to  his  entertainments  and  helped 
to  sell  his  tickets  and  make  his  enterprises  successful.  These 
abandoned  women  covertly  plied  their  shameless  arts  at  these 
undertakings.  When  some  of  the  good  people  remonstrated 
with  him,  he  replied  with  an  oath :  "  It  is  not  my  business 
to  look  into  the  character  of  people;  what  I  am  after  is 
money  for  God's  Church."  Just  after  one  of  his  fairs  was 
opened,  four  most  respectable  young  ladies,  finding  a  woman 
of  doubtful  character  in  charge  of  a  booth,  went  to  him  and 
gave  him  their  booth  books  and  said:  "  We  cannot  have  any- 
thing1 to  do  with  this  fair ;  it  is  a  scandal ;  we  cannot  associate 
with  abandoned  people."  He  replied :  "  It  is  none  of  our 
business ;  it  is  not  for  you  or  for  me  to  question  the  character 
of  people;  what  we  want  to  do  is  to  make  money  for  the 
Church."  At  one  of  his  church  fair  dances  an  intoxicated 
stranger  asked  a  young  lady  of  the  congregation  to  dance  with 
him.  She  declined,  and  he  staggered  over  to  the  Reverend 
Father  and  promised  to  give  ten  dollars  to  the  fair  if  he  would 
induce  the  young  lady  to  comply.  The  pastor  urged  the 
young  lady  to  dance  with  this  man,  telling  her  that  her  re- 
fusal would  cost  him  ten  dollars. 


£14  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

He  expelled  a  number  of  children  from  his  Sunday  School, 
which  was  held  in  the  church  immediately  before  Mass,  there- 
by preventing  them  from  being  present  at  Mass,  to  humiliate 
their  parents  for  not  meeting  his  exactions.  He  wrote  scur- 
rilous letters  to  several  parishioners  because  they  did  not  pay 
enough  to  satisfy  him. 

In  March,  1898,  he  told  his  congregation  to  be  ready  on 
a  certain  Sunday  to  announce,  on  the  calling  of  their  names, 
the  amounts  they  would  contribute  to  pay  off  the  church 
mortgage.  The  Sunday  came,  and  during  the  Mass  he  as- 
cended the  pulpit,  and  commenced  to  call  the  roll  of  his  con- 
gregation. He  called  out  three  or  four  names,  and  the  parties 
replied :  "  I  will  see  you  to-morrow,  Father."  He  called 
back :  "  You  will  be  in  hell  to-morrow ;  damn  to-morrow ; 
to-morrow  be  damned;  I'll  see  you  all  in  hell  to-morrow." 
The  congregation  rose  to  leave  the  church,  and  he  cried  out: 
"  Go,  and  may  the  curse  of  God  go  with  you ;  this  is  damna- 
ble; this  is  casting  pearls  before  swine;  by  the  eternal  God 
I'll  make  you  do  your  duty."  Several  parishioners  fainted. 

The  people  at  one  of  the  outlying  missions  bought  a  lot, 
for  a  church  site,  upon  which  there  was  a  cottage.  This  cot- 
tage was  sold  for  $49.00,  which  the  pastor  treated  as  his  own 
money  to  pay  for  a  memorial  window  in  his  own  honor  in 
the  new  church. 

At  another  outlying  mission,  in  a  popular  contest  for  a 
gold  watch  at  one  of  his  fairs,  he  put  on  a  blackboard  the 
name  of  a  prostitute  with  the  names  of  three  Catholic  ladies, 
two  of  whom  immediately  withdrew  their  names,  but  he 
persuaded  the  third  lady  to  stay  in  the  contest  on  the  plea  that 
the  money  would  be  for  God's  Church. 

After  having  continued  this  course  of  blackguardism  for 
a  number  of  years  he  was  promoted  to  a  most  desirable  parish, 
where  he  commenced  his  administration  by  holding  a  fair, 
at  which  he  had  all  kinds  of  gambling  devices.  Shortly  after 
it  closed  he  had  a  most  prominent  Paulist  Father  give  a  mis- 
sion. The  Paulist  Father  had  a  "question-box,"  and  among 


PRINCIPALS.  215 

the  questions  asked  were :  "  Is  it  right  to  have  gambling  de- 
vices at  a  church  fair  ?  "  "  Should  not  the  pastor  be  paid  a 
definite  salary  ?  "  "  Should  not  a  parish  have  trustees  to  man- 
age the  parish  finances  ?  "  The  Paulist  had  announced  that 
he  would  answer  the  questions  at  the  evening  service.  The 
pastor  forbade  him  to  answer  the  foregoing  questions.  The 
pastor  opened  the  evening  service  with  the  recitation  of  the 
Holy  Rosary,  and  then  retiring  to  the  sacristy  he  met  the 
Paulist  and  asked  him,  "  Are  you  going  to  answer  those 
questions  ?  "  "  Yes,  Father,"  was  the  reply.  The  pastor  then 
struck  the  Paulist  with  his  fists ;  smashed  his  spectacles  and 
knocked  him  down,  he  breaking  the  electric  lamp  in  his  fall, 
leaving  the  sacristy  in  darkness.  The  altar  boys  rushed  from 
the  sacristy  into  the  sanctuary  crying,  "  A  fight !  a  fight !  a 
fight !  "  Many  of  the  congregation  thought  they  were  cry- 
ing "fire."  The  pastor  quickly  put  on  the  benediction  cope, 
picked  up  the  Monstrance,  which  had  been  thrown  upon  the 
floor  in  the  struggle,  rushed  into  the  sanctuary,  ascended  the 
steps  of  the  altar,  opened  the  tabernacle,  took  from  there  the 
Blessed  Sacrament,  placed  it  in  the  Monstrance,  turned  around 
to  the  people  and  dismissed  them  with  the  Benediction  of  the 
Most  Holy  Sacrament.  Over  a  third  of  the  congregation  were 
Protestants,  who  were  curious  to  hear  the  sermon  of  the  Rev- 
erend Missionary,  the  Paulist's  work  being  especially  the  con- 
version of  Protestants  to  the  Catholic  faith. 

This  pugilistic  pastor  has  refused  to  pay  his  debts;  he 
has  involved  his  parish;  and  he  has  blackguarded  his  people. 
His  congregation  recently  demanded,  by  a  signed  petition  ac- 
companied by  grave  charges,  that  he  be  removed,  but  his  Arch- 
bishop ignored  this  demand,  and  the  priest  still  has  the  cure 
of  their  souls. 

In  his  late  parish  he  claimed  that  a  parishioner,  who 
was  a  poor  man  and  eighty  years  of  age,  owed  him  six  dol- 
lars pew  rent,  and  he  demanded  the  money.  The  old  man  re- 
sponded, "  I  have  no  money,  father,  except  twenty-five  cents," 
The  pastor  replied,  "  I  see  you  have  the  '  Lives  of  the  Saints ' 


216  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

here,  and  I  will  take  these  books  for  the  pew  rent."  The  old 
man  exclaimed,  "  Why,  father,  you  surely  would  not  take  them 
from  me !  They  are  the  only  comfort  I  have  during  the  long 
days  and  dreary  nights."  The  pastor  replied,  "  I  must  have 
my  pew  rent.  Bring  them  up  to  the  presbytery."  The  feeble 
old  man  obeyed  the  command  of  his  Reverend  Father  in  God. 
The  six  volumes  had  cost  him  over  nine  dollars. 

He  is  the  principal  of  a  parochial  school  which  has  over 
300  children  enrolled. 

Rev.  No.  6. — A  Fiend. 

He  is  a  priest  who  ravished  a  defenceless  fifteen-year-old 
orphan,  who  had  just  arrived  from  Ireland.  He  committed  the 
crime  in  his  parochial  school  hall,  where  he  was  in  the  habit 
of  offering  the  Holy  Sacrifice  of  the  Mass  for  the  children  of 
the  parish.  He  kept  her  in  his  power  through  fear.  Finally 
he  forced  her  into  public  prostitution,  and  he  often  visits  her 
for  immoral  purposes  in  her  abode  of  shame. 

He  has  an  honorable  place  in  the  published  list  of  the 
Catholic  clergy  of  his  Archdiocese.  She  is  numbered  among 
the  inmates  of  a  brothel.  He  is  beloved  as  a  "  Reverend 
Father  in  God."  She  is  loathed  as  a  common  harlot. 

Rev.  No.  /. — A  Doctor  of  Medicine. 

In  1899  he  was  sent  to  one  of  the  most  prominent  parishes 
in  America.  He  was  appointed  second  assistant  pastor,  and 
was  put  in  immediate  charge  of  the  parochial  school,  which 
had  about  six  hundred  pupils.  In  1902  he  was  charged  with 
a  number  of  penitentiary  offences. 

The  pastor  of  the  parish  tried  for  one  year  to  see  the 
Archbishop  about  this  unworthy  assistant,  but  the  stereotyped 
reply  of  the  Archbishop's  valet  was :  "  You  can't  see  him. 
He  is  in  the  country." 

Finally  this  assistant  was  charged  in  a  sworn  affidavit 
with  having  committed  an  indecent  assault  upon  a  beautiful 
young  lady,  who  was  taken  suddenly  ill,  and  to  whom  he  was 


PRINCIPALS.  217 

called  to  administer  the  last  rites  of  the  Church.  While  hear- 
ing her  confession  he  told  her  that  he  was  "  a  doctor  as  well 
as  a  priest,  and  spoke  about  the  female  anatomy  and  sexual 
matters,"  and  to  her  great  shame  and  resentment  made  a 
digital  examination.  He  then  gave  her  the  Sacraments. 

He  was  the  spiritual  director  of  the  parochial  school  and 
was  in  the  habit  of  visiting  it  daily.  He  would  sit  in  the  seats 
with  the  young  girls.  One  day  he  asked  one  of  the  girls  how 
she  felt.  She  replied :  "  I  have  a  pain  in  my  hip."  He  said : 
"  Come  with  me  and  I  will  cure  you."  He  took  her  into  the 
parochial  residence,  placed  her  on  a  lounge,  exposed  her  per- 
son and  indecently  rubbed  her  with  holy  water,  telling  her 
that  whenever  she  had  a  pain  like  that  to  come  to  him  and  he 
would  treat  her.  The  little  girl  told  the  nun  who  taught  her 
in  the  school,  and  the  nun  reported  it  to  the  pastor.  He  should 
have  been  indicted  for  a  criminal  assault. 

On  one  occasion  a  father,  on  returning  from  business  in 
the  evening,  found  his  little  girl  on  the  lap  of  this  priest,  who 
was  taking  indecent  liberties  with  her.  Said  the  parent :  "  My 
God!  Father,  what  is  the  meaning  of  this?  what  are  you  do- 
ing ?  "  "I  am  preparing  her  for  her  First  Holy  Communion," 
was  the  response  of  the  assistant  principal  of  the  parochial 
school.  The  parent  ordered  the  priest  from  his  house,  and 
threatened  to  kill  him  if  he  ever  visited  his  home  again.  The 
Church  authorities  were  made  acquainted  with  the  foregoing 
and  other  incidents  of  his  depravity,  and  fearing  that  he  would 
be  arrested  or  lynched  they  punished  him  by  promoting  him 
to  the  position  of  assistant  pastor  in  a  neighboring  parish!!! 
This  man  is  still  preparing  children  for  their  first  Holy. Com- 
munion ! ! ! 

Rev.  No.  8.    A  Sot. 

He  was  appointed  pastor  of  a  church  in  1901.  It  was 
known  to  many  priests  that  he  was  an  habitual  drunkard.  He 
was  frequently  found  wandering  on  the  streets  intoxicated, 
and  was  carried  by  policemen  to  police  stations.  He  was  un- 


2l8  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

der  the  influence  of  liquor  the  very  day  he  got  his  appoint- 
ment, and  his  clerical  friends  did  what  they  could  to  sober 
him  sufficiently  to  be  presentable  at  the  Archiepiscopal  Palace, 
to  which  he  was  called  by  a  telegram.  He  left  at  n  A.  M., 
received  his  pastoral  appointment  at  noon,  did  not  return, 
and  was  found  by  the  police  at  midnight  lying  dead  drunk  in 
an  alley. 

About  three  months  previous  to  the  above  incident  he  was 
serving  as  an  assistant  pastor  and  was  charged  with  the  duty 
of  preparing  children  for  Confirmation.  The  Confirmation 
Sunday  came  and  brought  his  Archbishop,  who  was  accom- 
panied by  a  numerous  retinue  composed  of  priests,  bands  of 
music  and  a  squad  of  cavalry.  At  n  o'clock  on  the  previous 
day  Rev.  No.  8  procured  a  jug  of  whiskey,  at  once  went  to 
bed  with  it  and  got  so  crazy  drunk  that  the  other  assistant 
pastors  and  the  housekeeper  had  to  hold  him  in  bed,  from 
which,  when  he  heard  the  music  on  'Sunday,  he  made  frantic 
efforts  to  escape  though  clad  only  in  his  nakedness,  deter- 
mined to  take  an  active  part  in  the  enthusiastic  welcoming  of 
the  Archbishop  by  the  good  people  of  the  parish. 

The  first  Sunday  he  was  to  say  Mass  as  pastor  he  was 
too  drunk  to  appear,  and  having  secured  no  other  priest  the 
good  people  were  deprived  of  divine  service.  He  was  too 
drunk  to  appear  on  the  following  Sunday  and  failed  to  pro- 
cure a  substitute,  but  his  ecclesiastical  friends  came  to  his 
rescue  and  had  present  a  Carmelite  Father  who  said  Mass. 
A  few  months  later  he  was  found  lying  on  the  street  in  a  help- 
less state  of  intoxication  in  one  of  the  most  disreputable  dis- 
tricts of  the  city,  and  was  removed  by  the  police  to  the  police 
station  and  kept  over  night  under  the  name  of  "  John  Doe." 
Pie  escaped  appearing  on  the  following  morning  among  the 
"  drunks,"  as  he  had  escaped  on  former  occasions,  through 
the  effective  political  influence  of  Church  officials.  This  last 
episode  was  one  of  the  many  things  reported  to  Cardinal  Mar- 
tinelli  by  the  Catholic  Laymen's  Association  of  Chicago. 


PRINCIPALS. 

Rev.  No.  8  does  not  believe  in  lay  trustees  for  parish 
property.  He  is  the  principal  of  a  parochial  school  which  has 
enrolled  over  350  pupils. 

Rev.  No.  p. — A  Gospel  Pitcher. 

He  v/as  so  drunk  on  a  number  of  occasions  while  offici- 
ating at  Mass  that  his  parishioners  had  to  remove  him  from 
the  Sanctuary.  On  one  Christmas  morning  his  parishioners 
had  to  remove  him  from  the  altar  and  put  him  to  bed. 

At  one  time  during  Mass  on  a  Sunday  he  took  the  Book 
of  the  Epistles  and  Gospels  in  his  hand  and  staggering  around 
on  the  altar,  while  turning  the  leaves,  he  suddenly  said :  "  The 
Gospel  for  the  Sunday  is  taken  from — ah!  O,  h — 1,  I  can't 
find  it,  there  is  the  d — n  book,  find  it  yourselves !  "  and  he  then 
hurled  the  Holy  Book  at  the  congregation.  The  good  people 
were  scandalized  beyond  description,  and  at  once  went  to  their 
homes  broken  hearted.  On  another  occasion  he  read  the  Gos- 
pel of  the  Sunday,  and  then  said :  "  Do  you  believe  that  ? 
Well,  I'll  be  d —  if  I  do.  Since  you  believe  it,  here's  the  d— 
book,  take  it !  "  and  he  threw  the  book  of  the  Epistles  and 
Gospels  at  the  congregation.  Before  he  was  appointed  to  this 
parish  he  had  been  in  charge  of  several  parishes,  where  he 
scandalized  the  faithful  by  his  vices.  Complaints  were  con- 
stantly made  about  him  to  his  ecclesiastical  superiors,  but  to 
no  avail. 

At  one  parish  his  boon  companion  was  a  colored  porter 
of  a  barber  shop,  whom  he  would  take  into  the  church  and 
vest,  and  the  colored  porter  would  walk  around  the  altar  pre- 
tending to  officiate,  while  the  priest  rang  the'  altar  bell.  Of 
course  they  were  both  drunk.  His  parishioners  charged  him 
also  with  undue  intimacy  with  a  certain  woman.  After  some 
time  he  was  promoted ! ! 

About  the  middle  of  February,  .1904,  he  was  in  an  in- 
toxicated condition  in  a  leading  Chicago  hotel,  and  boasted 
of  having  been  to  houses  of  ill-repute.  A  Catholic  bystander 
said  to  him :  "  You  ought  to  respect  the  Roman  collar  you 


22O  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

wear;  the  people  can  see  by  that  that  you  are  a  priest."  He 
replied :  "  A  priest !  a  priest !  why,  I  am  a  priest,  and  I  don't 
give  a  G —  d —  who  knows  it."  The  bystander  said :  "  You 
ought  to  take  off  that  collar."  "  O,  h— ,"  he  said,  "  that's  my 
trade-mark !  "  . 

A  parochial  school  which  has  this  principal  can  hardly 
be  open  to  congratulations. 

Rev.  No.  10. — A  Wounded  Veteran. 

At  a  certain  Sunday  Mass  in  the  summer  of  1901  he  ap- 
peared before  his  congregation  with  a  bandaged  wound  in  his 
forehead,  which  he  had  received  in  a  house  of  ill-repute,  where 
he  had  also  been  robbed  of  his  valuables.  The  house  was 
"  pulled  "  by  the  police,  and  he  was  among  the  guests.  At  the 
police  station  he  was  given  medical  attention.  In  1902 
the  piety,  zeal  and  efficiency  of  this  wounded  soldier  of  Christ 
received  due  recognition  and  reward  by  his  appointment  to  an 
important  parish  in  an  aristocratic  suburb. 

He  is  a  devotee  of  four  goddesses — Bacchus,  Venus,  Graft 
and  Gambling. 

Rev.  No.  ii. — A  Hatband  Lover. 

He  is  now  an  assistant  pastor.  About  six  years  ago  he 
fell  in  love  with  a  young  nun,  who  was  beautiful  and  accom- 
plished. She  was  the  music  teacher  at  a  female  academy. 
They  carried  on  an  amorous  correspondence.  Appointments 
were  made  and  kept.  Sometimes  they  met  at  the  house  of  his 
mother;  and  at  other  times  elsewhere.  Ingenious  methods 
were  practiced  to  arrange  these  assignations.  He  visited  the 
convent  to  say  Mass  and  to  give  Benediction  and  spiritual 
instruction  to  the  sisters  and  children;  and  he  hung  his  hat 
in  a  certain  place,  and  then  the  musical  nun  would  quietly 
slip  out  of  the  chapel  during  the  'devotions  and  go  to  his  hat 
and  find  under  the  inside  band  a  loving  missive.  She  would 
then  go  to  her  cell  and  read  her  love  letter,  and  pen  one  to  her 


PRINCIPALS.  221 

clerical  lover  in  which  she  would  designate  a  time  and  place 
for  their  meeting1,  and  then  put  it  under  his  hatband. 

On  one  occasion  a  Bishop  accompanied  him  to  the  female 
academy.  Their  hats  were  alike.  When  the  Bishop  put  on 
his  hat  he  discovered  that  it  was  too  small,  and  on  investigat- 
ing he  found  a  letter  under  the  hatband.  He  was  kind  enough 
to  give  the  letter  to  Rev.  No.  1 1  instead  of  attempting  to  keep 
the  appointment  himself.  The  nuns  knew  of  this  intimacy, 
and  there  was  a  good  deal  of  tittle-tattle  which  came  to  the 
ears  of  Rev.  No.  n,  who  threatened  the  Mother  Superioress 
with  all  kinds  of  revelations  if  she  did  not  silence  the  gossip. 
He  said  to  the  good  Mother :  "  How  can  I  help  it  if  one  of 
your  nuns  falls  in  love  with  me  ? "  A  conscientious  nun 
wrote  to  Cardinal  Martinelli,  then  Apostolic  Delegate,  at  Wash- 
ington, D.  C,  and  revealed  the  corrupt  condition  of  things. 
The  pastor  of  the  parish  was  ordered  to  make  an  immediate 
and  searching  investigation.  He  made  a  judicious  inquiry, 
and  reported  to  Cardinal  Martinelli  that  the  priest  had  fallen 
from  grace. 

At  this  opportune  time  a  priest  was  needed  to  act  as  as- 
sistant pastor  and  spiritual  director  of  the  Young  Ladies' 
Sodality  in  the  Cathedral  parish,  and  Rev.  No.  n,  regardless 
of  his  bad  record,  was  installed.  The  charms  that  smote  the 
nun  have  had  a  similar  effect  upon  a  number  of  the  young 
ladies  of  the  sodality,  and  a  great  deal  of  scandal  has  been  the 
result. 

He  is  the  spiritual  director  of  about  a  thousand  sodality 
young  ladies,  and  he  is  assistant  principal  of  a  parochial  school 
which  has  enrolled  about  thirteen  hundred  pupils. 

Rev.  No.  12.— A  Wolf  in  Priest's  Clothing. 

He  gave  instructions  for  First  Holy  Communion  to  a 
motherless  girl,  aged  thirteen  years,  who  was  accompanied 
by  a  girl  of  about  the  same  age.  He  sat  between  the  girls, 
who  were  standing  up,  and  suddenly  took  indecent  liberties 
with  the  orphan.  The  little  girl  was  shocked,  went  home  cry- 


222  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

ing  and  told  her  married  sister,  with  whom  she  lived,  what 
had  happened.  This  offence  was  brought  to  the  attention  of 
his  Archbishop,  by  affidavits  made  by  both  children  and  the 
married  sister.  The  Archbishop  referred  the  whole  matter  to 
his  Auxiliary,  who  held  a  white-washing  investigation. 

Rev.  No.  12  left  the  parish  upon  the  advice  of  certain 
ecclesiastical  dignitaries.  He  was  an  honored  guest  at  one 
of  the  oldest  and  most  prominent  convents  in  America, 
where  young  candidates  for  the  sisterhood  are  instructed  and 
where  there  is  a  very  large  female  academy  for  Catholics  and 
non-Catholics.  He  lived  in  continual  fear  of  being  shot  by  the 
father  of  the  little  orphan,  or  of  being  brought  before  the  bar 
of  the  Criminal  Court.  He  was  persuaded  to  go  to  Europe 
by  his  friends,  who  were  glad  to  get  him  out  of  the  country 
for  fear  that  he  would  be  caught  by  the  law  and  would  tell 
tales.  At  this  time  he  was  having  criminal  relations  with  a 
young  woman  who  was  the  dear  friend  of  one  of  the  mis- 
tresses of  a  certain  member  of  the  Episcopate,  and  who  is 
referred  to  in  a  certain  affidavit  (sent  to  Rome)  as  having 
become  a  mother  by  His  Lordship.  He  was  provided  with 
one  thousand  dollars  when  he  left  America.  He  went  to  Ire- 
land. He  tried  to  seduce  a  young  American  girl  (who  was 
traveling  with  her  uncle)  in  the  Victoria  Hotel,  Cork.  He  re- 
turned to  America  after  a  few  months,  and  through  the  good 

offices  of  his  friends  he  was  provided  with  a  home  at  St. , 

appointed  assistant  pastor  of  a  city  parish,  where  he  heard  con- 
fessions, said  Mass  and  performed  other  priestly  functions. 
The  Bishop  came  to  this  church  to  confirm  a  class  of  children. 
He  was  assisted  principally  by  Rev.  No.  12  who  wiped  from 
the  foreheads  of  the  innocent  boys  and  girls  the  holy  oil  placed 
by  the  Bishop's  hand.  The  good  people  present,  who  knew 
some  of  the  unsavory  facts,  were  indescribably  shocked. 

While  spiritual  director  of  a  young  ladies'  sodality  he 
seduced  one  of  its  most  prominent  officers,  and  promised  her 
that  when  he  secured  a  parish  of  his  own  he  would  make  her 


PRINCIPALS.  223 

his  housekeeper  and  they  would  then  live  as  husband  and  wife. 
He  acted  as  her  confessor  while  committing  sin  with  her. 

From  1893  to  about  1900  he  was  an  assistant  pastor. 
Part  of  this  time  he  was  a  professor  in  a  female  academy,  and 
he  was  in  the  habit  of  having  some  of  the  boarders  in  the 
academy  visit  him  in  his  private  rooms  in  the  presbytery,  where 
he  kissed  them  and  took  other  liberties,  frequently  having 
some  of  his  brother  priests  present. 

In  1903  he  was  appointed  pastor  of  a  fashionable  rural 
parish,  where  he  immediately  commenced  and  carried  to  com- 
pletion the  erection  of  a  large  parochial  residence,  provided 
with  a  goodly  number  of  bedrooms.  He  entertains  quite  lav- 
ishly, among  his  guests  being  some  drunken  and  immoral 
broken  down  priests  who  have  all  their  clerical  faculties  but 
no  appointments,  and  during  this  last  summer  one  of  those 
reverend  guests  visited  Catholic  families  in  the  neighboring 
metropolis  and  invited  their  daughters  to  spend  the  summer 
in  the  new  presbytery,  painting  it  as  a  delightful  vacation  re- 
sort and  so  situated  that  a  morning  dive  could  be  taken  from 
it  into  the  waters  of  a  placid  lake.  I  personally  advised  Cath- 
olic parents  not  to  allow  their  daughters  to  accept  the  invita- 
tion for  I  well  knew  that  it  was  extended  by  lust. 

Rev.  No.  ij. — A  Ballad  Singer. 

While  he  was  an  assistant  pastor  a  scandal  arose  con- 
necting his  name  with  one  of  his  female  parishioners,  in  con- 
sequence of  which  he  was  transferred  to  an  adjacent  parish. 

An  important  parish,  in  which  is  located  a  prominent  fe- 
male academy,  became  vacant,  and  he  was  promoted  to  it. 
Worthy  priests,  when  this  appointment  was  announced,  ex- 
claimed :  "  Behold  the  priest  who  has  been  selected  to  guide 
the  sisters  and  pupils  in  the  ways  of  chastity ! ! !  " 

He  has  appeared  many  times  before  the  public,  with  ec- 
clesiastics of  his  ilk,  in  the  role  of  a  ballad  singer. 

He  rarely  appears  in  public  in  the  garb  of  a  priest — his 
dress  is  usually  secular. 


224  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

There  are  on  file  at  the  Vatican  the  most  serious  charges 
against  him. 

Money  is  his  god  and  Venus  is  his  goddess. 

In  his  parochial  school  there  are  enrolled  over  500  chil- 
dren; and  the  female  academy  has  over  300  pupils,  a  number 
of  them  being  Protestants. 

Rev.  No.  14.     Celibacy  Inexpedient. 

This  priest  has  an  international  reputation.  I  now  give 
a  translation  of  an  affidavit  in  Latin  which  was  filed  at  Rome 
against  him,  but  no  attention  has  as  yet  been  paid  to  it  by  the 
Vatican : 

makes  oath  and  says :  I  am  a  priest  of  the  Arch- 
diocese of and  was  lately  appointed  Rector  of  a  Church 

in   the   same   Archdiocese.      I    was   Assistant   Rector   of   the 

Church  of for  about  thirteen  years.     During  all  these 

years  I  lived  in  the  same  house  and  sat  at  the  same  table  with 
the  Rector,  Rev. .  During  at  least  two  years  the  afore- 
said Rev. was  an  intimate  friend  and  faithful  adviser 

of  the  Rt.  Rev. ,  Auxiliary  Bishop  of  -    . 

Of  my  own  accord  and  of  my  own  knowledge  I  bear  tes- 
timony to  the  following  facts:  The  aforesaid  -  lived 

the  life  of  a  layman  rather  than  that  of  a  priest.  His  associates 
and  friends  are  certain  priests  of  doubtful  character  and  some 
from  among  the  laity  against  whom  again  and  again  grave 
charges  have  been  publicly  made. 

For  twelve  whole  days  in  a  year  he  has  not  lived  in  his 
parish.  For  ten  years,  clad  in  secular  dress,  he  spent  a  night, 
nobody  knew  where,  away  from  his  house,  once  in  every  week. 
It  is  certain  that  he  frequently  lied  about  the  circumstances. 

For  twelve  years  he  never  missed  the  festivity  called  Mar- 
di  Gras  in  the  City  of  New  Orleans,  which  is  one  thousand 
miles  from  Chicago. 

He  lived  for  at  least  two  months  in  the  year  not  only 
away  from  his  parish  but  away  from  the  Diocese. 

To  my  knowledge  and  that  of  my  associates  the  Rev. 
rarely  said  the  Divine  Office  nor  did  he  hear  confes- 
sions except  two  hours  in  a  year. 

For  ten  years  he  had  the  Stations  of  the  Cross  in  his 
church  without  canonical  erection. 


PRINCIPALS.  225 

He  made  sport  of  the  devotion  to  the  Sacred  Heart  of 
Jesus. 

In  the  hearing  of  myself  and  companion,  Rev.  

priest  of  the  Archdiocese  of  Rev.  has  main- 
tained that  carnal  intercourse  of  priests  with  women  of  ill- 
fame  is  not  to  be  held  as  a  sin,  provided  they  do  not  cohabit 
with  the  women  of  their  own  parishes. 

The   intimate   companion   and   mistress   of  Rev.   

is ,  who  publicly  maintains  that  the  celibacy  of  priests 

is  inexpedient  if  not  impossible.     Again  and  again  I  found 

Rev.  and in  a  bed  room  with  the  door  closed. 

The  circumstances  were  such  that  no  doubt  remained  but  that 
they  met  there  for  an  immoral  purpose.  The  sister  of  Rev. 
was  grieved  at  the  visits  of  this  woman,  but  neverthe- 
less they  were  continued. 

(Signed)  . 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me  April  17,  1902. 

[Seal.]  Notary  Public. 

Rev.  No.  14  tells  his  parishioners  from  the  altar :  "  It 
is  none  of  your  business  what  I  do.  You  don't  have  to  do  as 
I  do.  You  do  as  I  say  and  not  as  I  do." 

Rev.  No.  15. — A  Festive  Fellow. 

He  is  a  pastor  of  very  loose  morals.  He  associates  witK 
what  are  vulgarly  known  as  "  sporting  characters."  At  10 
o'clock  on  the  night  of  July  25,  1902,  accompanied  by  a  lewd 
woman,  he  went  into  a  fashionable  restaurant,  and  remained 
with  her  several  hours  in  a  private  wine  room.  They  left 
at  12 : 30  A.  M.  and  got  into  a  "  runabout "  that  had 
remained  hitched  for  them  all  that  time.  They  drove  furiously 
through  the  streets,  the  woman  holding  the  reins  and  he  hold- 
ing her  around  the  waist.  The  woman  was  a  beautiful  per- 
oxide blonde,  about  twenty-five  years  of  age,  and  had  dia- 
monds in  her  ears. 

At  the  Silver  Jubilee  of  his  church  a  bishop  and  some 
prominent  priests  were  present  and  officiated  at  the  Solemn 
High  Mass,  but  the  pastor  appeared  not.  He  and  a  clerical 


226  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

friend  had  entered  heartily  into  some  secular  ante- jubilee  fes- 
tivities, and  when  the  Sunday  came  he  had  only^  enough 
strength  to  attempt  the  six  o'clock  Low  Mass,  He  retired 
from  this  ordeal  completely  exhausted,  and  was  unable  to  be 
present  at  the  Jubilee  services  at  n  o'clock  to  hear  his  friend, 
a  Very  Reverend  Professor,  portray  him  as  "  a  pastor  justly 
celebrated  for  his  piety,  learning  and  efficiency,  a  noble  man." 

Rev.  No.  16. — An  Equestrian  Hero. 

He  has  been  a  drunkard  for  a  third  of  a  century.  Be- 
cause of  repeated  scandals  he  has  been  removed  from  one  par- 
ish to  another,  as  a  mild  discipline.  About  five  years  ago  he 
received  a  severe  optical  injury  in  a  drunken  spree.  He  was 
taken  to  a  Catholic  hospital  for  treatment,  and  from  there  the 
report  was  sent  out  by  the  good  nuns  that  the  reverend  suf- 
ferer was  a  Christian  hero — that  he  had  been  kicked  by  a 
horse  while  in  the  discharge  of  a  pastoral  duty!  Before  his 
removal  to  the  hospital  an  hotel  officer  made  an  inventory,  as 
was  the  rule  in  such  cases,  of  all  the  effects  upon  his  person, 
he  being  unconscious,  and  among  the  valuables  were  found 
some  rubber  goods  for  lewd  purposes.  His  unministerial  con- 
duct was  so  gross  that  complaints  were  made  to  his  Archbish- 
op, but  nothing  came  of  them.  He  still  remains  in  good 
standing  with  his  archdiocesan  authorities. 

I  saw  him  at  noon,  in  January,  1904,  on  the  public  street, 
in  zero  weather,  with  his  shoes  unlaced,  without  collar  and 
tie,  shirt  unbuttoned,  and  minus  an  overcoat,  rushing  into  a 
saloon. 

He  is  but  the  representative  of  a  large  class  of  parochial 
school  principals  and  assistant  principals  who  are  abject  slaves 
of  Bacchus  and  Venus. 

Rev.  No.  17. — A  Cuspidore  Martyr. 

His  transgressions  against  all  ecclesiastical  proprieties 
have  been  continuous.  When  he  was  an  assistant  priest  he  was 
moved  from  one  parish  to  another,  as  no  pastor  could  tolerate 


PRINCIPALS.  227 

him.  He  was  drunken  and  immoral  in  his  habits,  and  violent 
and  brutal  in  his  methods.  He  carries  to-day  a  scar  received 
from  a  former  pastor  who  struck  him  with  a  cuspidore  in  self- 
defense. 

He  and  a  clerical  chum  took  two  young  girls  to  the  pres- 
bytery of  another  priest,  where  they  ruined  them.  These 
girls  belong  to  prominent  Catholic  families. 

He  was  drinking  in  a  saloon  with  other  priests  on  an 
Easter  Sunday  night.  They  discussed  their  Easter  offerings, 
and  they  were  so  pleased  with  the  receipts  that  they  drank 
copious  toasts  to  the  faith  of  the  good  Catholic  people,  and 
finally  he  began  to  sing  a  High  Mass.  He  kissed  the  counter 
for  an  altar  and  then  turned  around  with  extended  hands  and 
chanted  "  Dominus  vobiscum"  the  others  chanting  in  response 
"  Et  cum  spiritu  tuo." 

He  has  a  large  parochial  school. 

Rev.  No.  i8.—A  Dead  Beat. 

Many  years  ago  he  was  an  assistant  pastor,  and  by  treach- 
erous conduct  towards  the  pastor  he  secured  a  pastorate.  Dur- 
ing, all  these  years  he  has  been  a  man  of  intemperate  habits. 
By  unbusinesslike  methods  he  almost  put  his  parish  into  bank- 
ruptcy. He  refused  to  pay  the  builder  of  his  late  church, 
who  had  to  sue  him.  His  present  parish  is  wealthy  and  aris- 
tocratic. 

He  is  a  clerical  dead  beat,  a  slave  of  Bacchus  and  a  lover 
of  Venus. 

He  has  a  parochial  school,  and  is  the  spiritual  director 
of  a  large  female  boarding  academy  which  has  many  non- 
Catholic  pupils. 

Rev.  No.  19. — A  Brewer. 

For  years  he  was  the  assistant  pastor  of  a  parish  located 
in  the  "  tenderloin  "  district  of  a  great  city,  where  he  gave 
free  rein  to  his  depraved  instincts,  consorting  with  prostitutes, 
gambling  and  getting  drunk  ad  libitum.  From  many  saloons 


228  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

in  this  parish  he  was  evicted  late  at  night  for  being  drunk  and 
disorderly,  and  for  the  same  reason  he  was  ejected  from  the 
public  bar  of  a  prominent  hotel  in  his  parish.  He  was  in  the 
habit  of  taking  a  Turkish  bath  at  midnight  to  free  him  from 
the  effects  of  debauch.  On  one  occasion,  in  company  with 
two  of  his  sacerdotal  brethren,  he  repaired  to  a  leading  Turk- 
ish bath  establishment.  Following  the  bath  of  steam  and  hot 
air  the  three  retired  into  the  same  compartment  and  while 
naked  bathed  their  insides  with  many  rounds  of  Bass'  ale. 
Their  conduct  became  so  scandalous  that  they  were  threatened 
with  expulsion.  Before  they  departed  they  purposely  used  the 
empty  ale  bottles  for  an  unmentionable  purpose,  and  the  at- 
tendants, on  entering  the  compartment  and  thinking  the  liquid 
was  ale,  quaffed  it  and  were  nauseated.  They  ran  after  the 
priests  to  do  them  bodily  injury.  That  same  Sunday  morning 
Rev.  No.  19  preached  an  eloquent  sermon  on  the  beauties  of  a 
well  ordered  Christian  life.  It  produced  a  profound  impres- 
sion, except  upon  some  of  the  victims  of  the  Bass  ale  outrage. 

The  life  of  Rev.  No.  19  is  a  travesty  of  our  Holy  Faith. 
While  his  Archbishop  was  weak  in  mind  and  body,  he  was  ap- 
pointed rector  of  a  large  parish.  On  the  eve  of  this  appoint- 
ment he  was  ejected  from  a  saloon  late  at  night  for  outrage- 
ous conduct,  it  taking  five  men  to  get  him  out. 

He  preached  at  the  laying  of  the  corner  stone  of  a  church, 
and  in  his  eloquent  effort  he  urged  the  people  not  to  forget 
that  the  Church  to-day  is  as  it  was  fashioned  by  Christ,  and 
that  She  cannot  be  both  progressive  and  consistent;  that  if 
they  complain,  of  the  Church  they  impeach  Christ.  (When 
corrupt  Catholic  clergymen  refer  to  the  Church  in  this  man- 
ner, they  mean  the  priesthood.) 

He  was  greatly  irritated  by  the  exposures  in  the  Chicago 
controversy.  A  brother  priest  said  to  him :  "  There  is  only 
one  way  for  them  to  stop  this;  if  it  is  not  true  let  them  sue 
Crowley!"  "Well,"  he  replied,  "they  can't  take  Crowley 
into  Court ;  he  has  told  the  truth ;  and,  anyway,  it  is  the  part 


PRINCIPALS.  229 

of  a  gentleman  to  have  a  good  time  with  the  ladies,  to  gam- 
ble and  t6  get  drunk." 

Over  twelve  hundred  children  look  up  to  him  as  their 
parochial  school  principal. 

Rev.  No.  20. — A  Sodomist. 

In  his  early  career  he  was  an  assistant  at  one  of  the  lead- 
ing churches  in  a  great  city.  While  there  he  was  under  grave 
suspicion  of  abominable  misconduct,  and  his  superiors  and 
friends,  fearing  that  he  would  be  arrested  by  the  civil  law,  to 
the  scandal  of  the  Church,  promoted  him  to  a  rectorship. 
In  both  places  he  committed  sodomy.  He  was  also  guilty  of 
habitual  drunkenness.  His  parishioners  rose  en  masse  and  sent 
deputations  to  his  archbishop  to  demand  his  removal.  They 
submitted  proofs.  Their  efforts  were  in  vain.  The  parish- 
ioners then  appealed  to  a  neighboring  bishop  to  help  them  get 
the  rotten  priest  removed.  That  bishop's  efforts  were  futile, 
and  the  clerical  beast  remained  unmoved  for  years,  a  stench 
in  the  nostrils  of  the  entire  community. 

In  1901  he  was  promoted  to  the  rectorship  of  a  city  par- 
ish, where  he  is  now  curing  souls  and  warning  the  faithful 
against  the  "  godless  public  schools." 

When  his  present  parish  opens  its  parochial  school  it  will 
have  a  sodomist  for  its  principal. 

Rev.  No.  21. — A  Philanthropist. 

This  priest  conducts  an  alleged  charitable  home  and  school 
for  waifs.  He  sends  "  chain  "  letters  and  circulars  all  over  the 
United  States,  and  even  abroad.  The  money  flows  in  to  him 
like  a  stream  from  an  artesian  well.  His  daily  receipts  at  the 
start  averaged  $500,  but  now  they  are  much  larger,  owing 
to  a  more  systematic  working  of  his  various  soliciting  schemes. 
In  his  office  a  Miss  B.  was  a  faithful  worker,  and  she  toiled 
in  reality  for  the  glory  of  God,  not  receiving  any  salary  what- 
ever. He  took  all  of  the  money  and  wisely  invested  it  for  him- 


23O  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

self  in  real  property,  and  if  ever  a  rainy  day  comes  he  has  a 
number  of  farms  upon  which  to  settle.  He  occupies  a  dou- 
ble building  which  is  sumptuously  furnished  and  electrically 
lighted,  the  four  or  five  waifs  occupying  one  of  the  garrets. 

The  first  lady  of  the  home  was  a  German,  and  on  all  their 
trips  he  passed  her  off  as  his  niece,  I  don't  know  whether  on 
his  mother's  or  on  his  father's  side.  She  finally  married.  Her 
successor  made  it  so  hot  for  the  conscientious  Miss  B.  that  she 
appealed  to  him  for  protection,  but  he  peremptorily  sent  her 
away. 

Generous  people  call  at  the  institution  and  leave  money 
for  this  "  sweet  charity,"  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  at  that  very 
time  the  institution's  hard  worked  head  is  lying  in  an  elegant 
upper  room,  sleeping  off  the  influence  of  Bacchus. 

Tippling  priests  never  refuse  an  invitation  to  visit  his 
institution.  It  beats  a  saloon — a  greater  variety,  more  of  it, 
and  nothing  to  pay. 

He  has  a  barrel  of  whiskey  so  placed  that  he  can  suck  its 
contents  through  a  rubber  tube  while  lying  in  bed.  His  cigars 
are  made  to  order  and  are  brandy  soaked.  He  imports  his 
wine,  champagne,  oysters  and  lobsters.  He  is  worth  thousands 
of  dollars  and  is  still  making  large  money  at  the  old  stand. 

A  former  post  office  clerk  is  now  confined  in  a  peniten- 
tiary for  robbing  the  mail  of  this  clerical  'philanthropist,  who 
probably  escapes  a  like  fate  _by  "  divying  "  with  certain  of  his 
ecclesiastical  superiors,  a  conclusion  to  which  I  am  led  in  part 
by  the  lying  advertisement  of  the  number  of  waifs  in  his  home 
which  the  officials  of  his  archdiocese  have  inserted  in  his  be- 
half in  the  Catholic  Directory  and  Clergy  List  for  1904  for 
the  United  States  and  Canada. 

This  philanthropic  clerical  swindler  cries  loudly  "  To  hell 
with  the  public  school,"  and  he  is  an  ardent  supporter  of  the 
demand  for  State  aid  for  parochial  schools.  He  is  now  work- 
ing to  secure  State  aid  for  his  home  and  school  for  waifs. 


PRINCIPALS.  231 

Rev.  No.  22. — A  Seductionist. 

He  began  his  ministry  in  a  large  city.  He  was  constantly 
found  in  brothels.  He  was  sent  into  the  country  as  pastor, 
and  was  finally  promoted  to  a  very  desirable  rectorship  in  an 
inland  city,  where  he  seduced  a  beautiful  girl.  Her  father 
before  his  death  wanted  religious  consolation,  and  his  trusted 
pastor  came  to  him  and  gave  him  the  last  rites  of  the  Church. 
The  dying  man,  tortured  by  the  fear  of  leaving  unprotected 
his  beautiful  daughters,  turned  to  his  pastor  and  said: 
"  Father,  protect  and  save  them  from  all  harm."  The  priest 
said :  "  I  will."  The  man  died.  The  pastor  had  already 
seduced  one  of  the  daughters.  During  her  absence  from  home, 
preceding  her  father's  death,  the  pastor  wrote  to  her  the  fol- 
lowing love  letter: 

Aug.  24th,  1894. 
My  Dearest: 

Your  most  affectionate  and  long  expected  letter  reached 
me  yesterday  morning,  and  its  arrival  and  the  reading  of  its 
contents  pleased  me  more  than  any  language  of  mine  could 
adequately  express.  With  your  letter  also  came  one  from  your 
father.  After  reading  them,  especially  yours,  which  I  read 
more  than  twenty  times,  I  called  over  to  your  home  and  read 
them  to  your  mother  (of  course  leaving  out  the  love  part  of 
it).  Your  mother  is  of  course  lonesome,  but  she  is  hap- 
py and  encouraged  under  the  circumstances  to  know  that  your 
own  dear  self  is  improving  in  health. 

Dearest,  believe  me  when  I  say  that  you  can  form  no 
idea  of  the  pleasure  which  your  letter  afforded  me  when  you 
stated  that  you  were  having  a  real  swell  time  on  your  much 
needed  vacation  and  your  wishes  to  have  me  with  you  have 
often  been  the  same  as  mine.  But  when  impossibilities  pre- 
vent us  as  at  present  from  meeting  and  enjoying  each  other 
it  thus  affords  me  exquisite  pleasure  to  do  the  next  best  thing, 
to  write  to  you  and  to  assure  you  that  you  are  not  forgotten, 
and  that  the  old  adage  "  Out  of  sight,  out  of  mind  "  does  not 
and  never  will  hold  good  in  our  case.  Had  grateful  thoughts 
been  letters  you  would  have  received  one  hundred  a  day,  but 
opportunities  for  letter  writing  have  been  few  since  the  dis- 
tance between  us  is  so  great. 


232  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

When  I  stated  the  positive  truth  to  you  in  my  last  letter 
concerning  my  interview  with  I  paused  before  com- 
mitting my  thoughts  to  paper  for  fear  that  they  may  annoy  you 
on  your  pleasure  trip  but  as  I  have  never  deceived  you  in 
the  past  I  was  not  going  to  deceive  you  now.  I  have  always 
tried  to  be  honest  and  frank  in  everything  I  said  or  promised 
to  you  and  I  want  to  be  so  in  this  instance.  I  am  glad  that 
it  has  not  annoyed  you.  I  felt  and  know  now  that  you  are 
a  good  sensible  girl  and  that  the  truth,  no  matter  how  un- 
pleasant it  might  be,  were  better  known,  for  I  could  not  allow 
you  to  be  humbugged  by  any  man  living.  You  ask,  while  I 
stay  by  you,  what  need  you  care ;  and  you  need  not  care  about 
the  deceptions  of  man  or  woman.  The  world  is  full  of  de- 
ception and  the  older  you  and  I  get  the  more  we  realize  that 
fact.  I  have  seen  a  great  deal  of  it  and  often  from  those  I 
least  suspected.  Honey  talk  and  sweet  smiles  are  cheap  and 
for  that  reason  they  abound  in  the  world,  and  the  true  friend, 
like  the  true  diamond,  is  a  rare  jewel  to  find. 

Fear  not,  my  dearest  love,  for  I  will  stay  by  you  through 
thick  and  thin,  in  joy  and  in  sorrow.  There  is  none  on  earth 
I  love  and  cherish  so  much  as  I  do  you,  my  dearest.  It  makes 
my  very  heart  bleed  when  I  am  compelled  to  say  anything  to 
you  but  words  of  tenderness  and  love. 

I  have  seen  some  joys  and  some  sorrow  since  my  advent 
here.  I  have  labored  hard  and  during  the  constant  respon- 
sibilities of  my  ministry  I  have  made  many  friends,  but  none 
so  kind,  none  so  true,  none  to  whom  I  feel  so  grateful  as  I 
do  to  you,  and  I  sincerely  hope  that  you  and  I  will  continue 
always  to  love  each  other  as  we  do  to-day,  and  that  nothing 
will  ever  break  the  golden  chain  of  love  that  unites  us  so  close- 
ly together. 

I  made  $58.30  on  the  concert.  I  will  make  it  $75.00  and 
distribute  that  amount  among  the  choir;  $10.00  is  for  my 
dearest  when  she  returns  from  rural  visits. 

With  kind  remembrance  to  all  and  my  best  love  to  your 
own  dearest,  sweetest  self,  I  remain,  as  ever, 

Lovingly  yours, 

The  young  lady  returned  from  this  trip;  her  father  died, 
and  she  found  herself  in  delicate  health.  She  went  to  Rev. 
No.  22  and  he  frightened  her  into  doing  just  as  he  bade  by 
declaring  that  all  of  her  money  was  forfeited  by  her  misdeed, 


PRINCIPALS.  233 

and  that  she  would  be  in  the  poor  house  unless  she  depended 
upon  him.  He  then  got  a  young  man  to  shoulder  the  disgrace 
and  to  marry  her  for  her  money.  Rev.  No.  22  and  this  fellow 
hurried  down  town  and  procured  a  marriage  license;  but  her 
mother  arrived  at  the  hospital  before  the  two  villains  got  back, 
and  then  the  daughter  refused  to  be  married,  and  violently  de- 
nounced the  priest,  who  thereupon  departed. 

His  church  was  crowded  the  following  Sunday  morning; 
and  just  as  he,  with  acolytes  and  incense  bearers,  was  step- 
ping within  the  altar  railing,  a  wild,  shrill  scream  sounded 
above  the  tones  of  the  organ.  Instantly  everything  stopped. 
There  at  the  altar  stood  the  poor  girl's  mother,  and  pointing 
her  finger  in  scorn  at  the  priest  she  screamed :  "  Keep  down ! 
you  shall  not  hold  service.  You  ruined  my  beautiful  daughter, 
and  no  such  false-hearted  man  can  step  into  that  sacred  place." 
The  white-haired  mother  was  taken  away  by  a  policeman,  and 
Rev.  No  22  told  the  people  that  he  was  being  blackmailed. 
The  scandal  was  on  everybody's  tongue  in  the  town.  Rev. 
No.  22  was  arrested  for  bastardy,  and  stood  convicted  before 
the  people.  He  went  to  the  press  and  tried  to  have  the  story 
suppressed,  but  his  love  letter  made  that  impossible. 

Through  the  lust  of  this  parochial  school  principal  a 
promising  life  was  ruined,  several  young  women  were  crushed 
by  a  sister's  shame,  a  mother's  heart  was  broken,  the  confi- 
dence of  a  dead  man  was  betrayed,  and  the  escutcheon  of  our 
Holy  Church  was  so  stained  that  Catholics  in  that  town  hang 
their  heads  to-day  in  shame.  Yet  this  scoundrel,  instead  of 
being  driven  by  ecclesiastical  authority  from  our  sacred  al- 
tars, was  simply  transferred  to  another  parish  where  he  now 
has  the  spiritual  direction  of  immortal  souls. 

Rev.  No.  23. — A  Debauchee. 

He  was  expelled  for  immorality  from  the  seminary  in 
his  native  diocese  while  studying  for  the  priesthood.  He  then 
came  to  his  present  Archdiocese,  and  resumed  his  theological 
studies  in  its  seminary.  After  his  ordination  he  was  ap- 


234  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

pointed  an  assistant  pastor  of  a  parish  in  the  "  tough  "  sec- 
tion of  a  large  city.  He  was  a  frequent  visitor  at  houses  of 
ill-repute.  About  twelve  years  ago  he  was  made  pastor  of 
his  present  parish.  His  career  there  has  been  one  of  drunk- 
enness and  debauchery.  He  visits  houses  of  vice,  and  takes 
lewd  women  back  to  his  parochial  home.  From  November, 
1889,  to  November,  1890,  he  had  illicit  relations  with  Miss 
— ,  Mrs.  —  and  Miss  — .  The  last  two  were  supposed  to 
sleep,  on  their  visits  to  the  presbytery,  in  a  room  adjoining  his, 
but  in  the  morning  only  one  bed  showed  signs  of  having  been 
occupied,  and  it  was  the  pastor's  and  clearly  showed  that  it 
had  held  two.  The  first  woman  was  his  parishioner  and  was 
a  virtuous  girl  until  he  met  and  ruined  her.  Frequently  rub- 
ber articles  were  found  in  his  presbytery  whose  use  is  familiar 
to  debauchees.  He  has  been,  afflicted  with  a  loathsome  dis- 
ease and  has  had  medical  treatment  for  it.  Rubber  articles 
marked,  "  For  prevention  of  disease  only "  were  taken  out 
of  a  garment  that  he  had  worn  on  the  preceding  Sunday  while 
saying  Mass.  Miss  —  was  pulled  out  of  his  bed  at  the  mid- 
night hour  by  two  reputable  Catholic  women. 

At  one  time  his  Archbishop  gave  him  $500.00  to  pay  for 
church  improvements.  He  spent  the  money  in  debauchery, 
and  did,  not  get  back  to  his  parish  until  after  the  early  Sunday 
Mass,  which  was  said  by  a  Franciscan  monk.  He  was  ac- 
companied home  from  a  vile  haunt  by  a  suspended  priest  of 
a  neighboring  diocese.  He  hired  a  liveryman  to  drive  them 
home.  The  carriage  bill  was  $64.00.  He  was  too  drunk  to 
say  Mass  when  he  got  home,  and  the  High  Mass  was  said 
by  the  suspended  priest.  A  special  collection  was  taken  up 
for  some  church  purpose,  out  of  which  the  carriage  fare  was 
paid.  While  lying  on  the  floor  of  the  presbytery  drunk,  he 
soliloquized  upon  his  deception  of  the  people,  and  dismissed 
the  subject  with  the  exclamation:  "  O,  well,  if  I  don't  de- 
ceive them  somebody  else  will ! "  A  Catholic  lady  called 
thrice  upon  his  Archbishop  to-  complain  of  this  priest,  but 
could  not  see  him.  Finally  the  Archbishop's  valet  told  her 


PRINCIPALS.  235 

to  go  to  the  Cathedral  House  and  see  the  Chancellor.  She 
saw  this  official,  but  he  dismissed  her  abruptly,  saying  that 
he  did  not  believe  anything  she  said  about  the  rector. 

Rev.  No.  23  has  the  reputation  of  being  an  eloquent 
preacher,  and  his  services  are  in  demand  by  his  sinning  breth- 
ren for  special  ecclesiastical  functions  (such  as  corner  stone 
layings,  dedications  and  jubilees),  his  Archbishop,  who  knows 
about  his  unholy  life,  often  being  present. 

When  Rev.  No.  23  goes  to  Hot  Springs  and  other  sum- 
mer and  winter  resorts  his  friends  address  him,  verbally  and  in 
writing,  as  "  Mr."  He  goes  under  the  alias  of  "  Mr.  Mitchell." 

He  has  become  so  depraved  that  he  has  low  creatures 
serve  him  in  the  ways  of  Sodom. 

If  he  had  his  just  deserts  he  would  be  transferred  from 
his  parish  to  the  penitentiary. 

He  is  the  principal  of  a  parochial  school  which  has  en- 
rolled over  two  hundred  pupils,  and  he  vehemently  seconds 
the  Catholic  clerical  demand  for  State  aid  for  parochial 
schools. 

Rev.  No.,  24.— An  Admirer  of  "Little  Egypt" 

After  his  ordination  he  served  as  an  assistant  pastor,  and 
he  was  known  about  town  as  a  sport,  a  gambler  and  a  roue. 
One  of  his  pastimes  was  telling  smutty  stories  founded  upon 
things  which  he  had  learned  in  the  confessional.  He  and 
other  priests  caroused.  Moonlight  nights  were  used  for  hay- 
rack parties  by  these  convivial  priests,  whose  companions  were 
abandoned  women.  He  was  never  known  to  miss  a  picnic 
day  or  night.  There  was  no  exhibition  of  beastliness  in  any 
noted  house  of  depravity,  white  or  black  or  yellow,  which  did 
not  number  him  among  its  most  delighted  patrons.  "-Little 
Egypt"  was  one  of  his  prime  favorites.  Her  nude  dancing 
never  failed  to  fascinate  him.  His  conduct  was  so  unpriestly 
that  he  finally  was  written  up  in  the  daily  press.  Within  two 
weeks  thereafter  he  was  grievously  punished  "by  being  promoted 
to  the  cure  of  souls  in  his  present  parish !  Repeatedly  he  lias 


236  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

accompanied  his  Bishop  to  assist  in  the  confirmation  of  the 
children  of  the  faithful  Catholic  laity ! ! ! 

Being  short  of  funds  he  mortgaged  his  church  for  a 
thousand  dollars;  and  then  he  invited  his  Bishop  to  confirm 
the  children  of  his  parish.  After  the  Confirmation  he  gave 
a  banquet  in  honor  of  the  Bishop,  and  congenial  priests  and 
a  number  of  young  lady  friends  attended  it.  The  gathering 
broke  up  after  the  departure  of  the  Bishop  in  a  drunken  fight 
over  the  girls.  Two  parties  were  formed,  and  one  ejected  the 
other.  The  vanquished  party  retired  and  awakened  a  saloon- 
keeper, one  of  the  pastor's  leading  parishioners,  and  insisted 
upon  being  furnished  with  a  stock  of  liquor.  This  was  given 
to  them,  and  with  it  they  went  to  a  hotel.  They  then  pro- 
ceeded to  drown  the  recollection  of  their  recent  defeat,  and 
in  the  effort  made  such  a  rumpus  that  the  quiet  of  the  town 
was  disturbed,  and  the  city  marshal  threatened  to  put  them 
all  under  arrest  if  they  did  not  desist.  While  debating  the 
matter  the  imbibed  liquor  came  to  the  relief  of  the  officer  of 
the  law,  the  offenders  subsiding  into  a  drunken  sleep. 

Rev.  No.  24  makes  it  a  Christian  virtue  to  avoid  the  pay- 
ment of  bills.  Indeed,  he  is  a  bankrupt  financially  and  morally. 

Because  of  his  artistic  singing,  he  is  in  great  demand  as 
celebrant  of  Requiem  High  Masses,  and  as  chanter  of  the 
"Veni  Creator  Spiritus"  at  spiritual  retreats,  synods,  etc., 
this  hymn  being  a  prayer  for  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Ghost 
upon  the  gathering.  He  is  an  accomplished  singer  of  "  coon  " 
and  "  levee  "  songs,  and  is  unequalled  as.  a  cake  walker. 

As  soon  as  his  parish  has  its  parochial  school  erected,  he, 
by  the  law  of  the  Church,  will  be  its  principal,  and  the  par- 
ishioners can  have  none  other. 

Rev.  No.  25. — A  Ground  Hog. 

He  is  rector  of  an  immense  parish.  He  first  studied  law, 
but  seeing  more  money  in  the  priesthood  he  abandoned  the 
law  for  the  Lord.  He  went  to  Rome  and  studied  there.  Then 
he  came  home,  and  the  prestige  of  his  foreign  schooling  placed 


PRINCIPALS.  237 

him  at  once  in  an  important  ecclesiastical  office.  Then  he  was, 
through  a  "  pull,"  appointed  rector  of  his  present  parish.  He 
is  grossly  intemperate.  He  was  for  some  months  in  a  Catholic 
hospital  at  the  time  of  his  appointment  on  account  of  inebriety. 
He  is  continually  absent  from  his  parish,  being  at  Hot  Springs 
and  other  resorts.  He  is  never  home  except  when  he  wants 
money.  About  the  only  religious  duty  he  ever  performs  is  to 
announce  special  collections.  He  never  baptizes ;  he  never 
hears  confessions:  and  he  never  answers  sick  calls.  His  chief 
ecclesiastical  service  is  to  beg  for  more  money  on  Christmas, 
Easter  and  All  Souls'  Day.  Some  of  his  parishioners  refer 
to  him  as  "  the  ground-hog  "  because  of  his  rare  appearances 
and  sudden  departures.  He  is  short  on  religion  and  long  on 
graft. 

He  has  1200  pupils  in  his  parochial  school.  He  has  all 
sorts  of  gambling  devices  at  his  church  fairs,  and  raffles 
whiskey  at  them.  From  the  altar  and  pulpit  of  his  church 
the  public  schools  are  called  "  godless." 

Rev.  No.  26. — A  Monstrosity. 

He  is  the  pastor  of  a  very  large  parish,  and  has  been  its 
rector  for  thirty  years.  After  his  ordination  he  was  appointed 
an  assistant  to  Father  Z.  Father  Z.  held  a  big  church  fair, 
got  dead  drunk  during  it,  and  an  assistant  ran  away  with  the 
proceeds.  Rev.  No.  26,  being  regarded  as  a  shrewd  man  to 
hush  up  the  scandal,  was  selected  to  take  the  place  of  the  fugi- 
tive assistant.  When  he  got  on  the  ground  he  saw  that  the 
parish  by  proper  handling  would  have  a  great  future,  the  par- 
ishioners being  a  generous,  industrioust  and  thrifty  people. 
But  he  felt  that  he  must  get  Father  Z.  out  of  the  way.  He 
procured  a  two-gallon  jug  of  whiskey  and  gave  it  to  Father 
Z.,  who  was  lying  in  bed  partially  intoxicated  and  begging  for 
liquor,  and  Father  Z.  got  beastly  drunk.  Rev.  No.  26  then 
hurried  to  his  Bishop,  and  complained  that  it  was  impossible 
to  do  any  work  for  God  with  the  Rector  continually  drunk. 
The  Bishop  immediately  sent  his  Chancellor  to  the  presbytery 


238  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

to  investigate,  with  orders  to  remove  Fattier  Z.  to  the  hospital 
if  the  complaint  was  found  "correct.  Father  Z.  was  taken 
away  forthwith.  At  this  time  the  fugitive  assistant  was  ar- 
rested, and  arraigned  before  the  Criminal  Court.  Rev.  No. 
26  was  a  necessary  witness  to  produce  and  testify  to  the  books 
of  the  parish ;  and  he  went  to  his  Bishop  and  said :  "  In  what 
capacity  shall  I  testify?  If  I  testify  as  an  assistant  my  evi- 
dence will  have  little  weight."  The  Bishop  replied :  "  Testify 
as  pastor  of  the  church."  "  But,"  rejoined  Rev.  No.  26,  "  if 
I  am  asked  to  produce  my  letter  of  appointment  as  pastor,  what 
1  shall  I  do?"  The  Bishop  said:  "I  will  fix  that  now,"  and 
he  forthwith  wrote  a  letter  appointing  Rev.  No.  26  pastor  of 
the  church.  When  Father  Z.  got  sober  he  found  his  parish 
gone,  and  he  drifted  around  from  place  to  place  among  his 
friends  and  finally  died.  But  he  is  to-day  the  nemesis  of  Rev. 
No.  26,  who,  when  he  has  the  delirium  tremens,  sees  Father 
Z.,  and  it  is  heart-rending  to  hear  him  cry :  "  O,  let  me  alone ! 
let  me  alone !  for  God's  sake,  let  me  alone !  let  me  alone !  " 

Rev.  No.  26  and  his  relatives  have  amassed  a  fortune  of 
nearly  a  million  dollars  out  of  this  church. 

He  has  demoralized  the  people  of  his  parish  through  his 
scandalous  conduct.  Numerous  complaints  have  been  made 
against  him  by  parishioners  and  assistant  priests  but  to  no 
avail.  The  complaining  assistants  were  usually  punished;  the 
parishioners  were  always  ignored. 

On  especially  sacred  occasions,  such  as  the  days  of  the  Na- 
tivity, Crucifixion  and  Resurrection  of  our  Lord,  he  gets  ex- 
cessively drunk,  alleging  that  his  drunkenness  is  an  incon- 
testable proof  of  the  genuineness  and  depth  of  his  faith.  The 
way  he  puts  the  matter  is  this :  "  A  man  with  my  faith  would 
drop  dead  on  the  day  of  the  Nativity  of  our  Lord,  when  he 
thinks  of  the  divine  Savior  being  born  in  a  barn,  if  he  did  not 
drown  his  amazement !  "  "  A  man  with  my  faith  on  the  day 
of  the  Crucifixion  of  our  Savior,  thinking  over  His  sufferings 
and  death,  would  go  crazy  if  he  kept  sober ! "  "  On  Easter 


PRINCIPALS.  239 

a  man  with  my  faith  would  be  paralyzed  with  holy  joy,  reflect- 
ing upon  that  open  tomb  and  the  risen  Christ,  if  he  did  not 
have  whiskey  to  calm  his  emotions ! "  "  Only  men  of  weak 
faith  can  keep  sober  on  the  day  of  the  Ascension  of  Our  Lord ; 
men  of  strong  faith  must  get  drunk  to  keep  their  hearts  from 
being  broken  by  lonesomeness !  "  The  Feast  Days  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin  are  times  of  peculiar  trial  to  him;  and  only 
by  copious  draughts  of  whiskey  is  he  able  to  stand  the  strain 
of  their  touching  memories. 

He  frequently  officiates  at  Mass  without  his  pants,  trust- 
ing to  his  cassock  to  hide  his  limbs,  and  he  often  wanders 
around  the  streets  in  some  of  the  sacred  vestments.  He  made 
two  attempts  on  Christmas  morning,  1902,  to  say  Mass  in  his 
night  shirt  before  the  great  congregations.  He  made  a  third 
appearance  in  the  sanctuary  before  fully  two  thousand  people, 
clad  in  his  night  shirt,  with  a  short  cape  over  his  shoulders, 
and  he  stood  in  the  sanctuary  bowing  and  smiling  foolishly  at 
the  worshipers.  The  two  priests  who  were  engaged  in  giving 
Holy  Communion  ordered  an  altar  boy  to  lead  him  away. 

Just  after  the  death  of  the  noted  American  agnostic,  Rob- 
ert G.  Ingersoll,  he  said :  "  Gentlemen,  Ingersoll  is  dead.  It 
is  too  bad.  He  was  an  honest  man.  I  wish  I  had  the  strength 
and  ability  to  take  his  place  in  the  world ;  if  I  had  I  would  do 
so  gladly.  Gentlemen,  we  are  fooling  the  people,  but  he  did 
not."  He  was  then  asked  by  one  of  the  priests,  "  Father,  do 
you  mean  to  say  that  there  is  no  God  ?  "  He  replied,  "  Why, 
certainly  I  do."  His  questioner  then  reviewed  the  usual  Cath- 
olic arguments  for  the  existence  of  a  God,  but  he  sneered  and 
said :  "  If  there  be  what  you  say,  a  God,  I  now  challenge  Him 
to  strike  me  dead :  that  is  my  answer  to  you,  young  man."  He 
held  his  watch  and  gave  God  five  minutes,  and  on  the  failure 
of  the  Almighty  to  kill  him  claimed  that  he  had  won  the  argu- 
ment. 

This  man's  life  has  been  an  open  book  to  bishops,  priests 
and  people.  The  blasphemous  wretch  is  to-day  the  spiritual 
shepherd  of  at  least  fifteen  thousand  souls.  -What  has  been 


24O  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

and  what  is  his  "  pull "  ?  He  has  become  so  besotted  that  he 
throws  money  out  of  his  windows  to  the  parochial  school  chil- 
dren to  get  them  to  bring  him  whiskey. 

He  keeps  his  parish  heavily  in  debt.  He  once  said  to  one 
of  his  assistants :  "  If  you  ever  get  a  parish,  don't  get  your 
church  out  of  debt ;  keep  it  in  debt,  and  then  you  can  holler  for 
money  as  often  as  you  please ;  if  anybody  is  fool  enough  to  pay 
off  the  debt,  start  a  new  debt.  Have  a  collection  every  Sun- 
day, at  least  every  other  Sunday;  never  allow  three  Sundays 
to  pass  without  a  collection ;  if  you  do,  the  people  will  get  out 
of  the  knack  of  giving.  I've  got  a  beautiful  parish,  and  I 
prefer  it  to  a  diocese.  I  will  tell  you  why  my  parish  is  beauti- 
ful :  I've  the  finest  lot  of  cattle  in  the  country  to  deal  with, 
and  they  never  run  dry.  Why,  the  more  I  kick  them  and  the 
more  I  cuff  them,  the  more  I  blackguard  them  and  the  oftener 
I  get  drunk,  the  better  they  pony  up." 

For  over  seven  years  whenever  he  has  addressed  his  peo- 
ple during  church  services  he  has  done  so  seated  in  a  chair 
inside  the  sanctuary  rail.  He  gives  this  as  his  reason :  "  Why 
should  I  tire  myself  by  standing?  Only  an  inferior  being 
would  stand  to  talk  to  such  a  lot  of  cattle."  The  poor  people 
believe  that  the  infirmities  of  his  flesh  compel  him  to  occupy 
a  chair.  Virtually  the  only  Mass  he  says  is  at  some  funeral 
where  there  is  for  him  a  fee. 

Generation  after  generation  of  his  relatives  have  drawn 
their  support  from  the  duped  people  of  his  parish.  His  house- 
keeper is  his  sister,  and  she  is  also  his  general  manager  and 
cashier;  his  brother  is  his  sexton,  and  so  on.  His  sister  has 
large  real  estate  holdings.  She  keeps  her  money  deposited  in 
different  banks  so  that  no  one  can  tell  the  amount  of  her  de- 
posits. . 

He  is  an  ardent  promoter  of  church  fairs,  and  makes  his 
parochial  school  children  sell  the  tickets,.    At  them  he  has  slot 
machines,  wheels  of  fortune  and  other  gambling  devices;  also- 
fortune  tellers,  and  a  saloon  which  he  runs  without  a  license. 
His  parochial  school  is  closed  during  two  afternoons  to  give 


PRINCIPALS.  241 

the  children  an  opportunity  to  gamble.  He  holds  his  fairs, 
with  their  varied  attractions,  saloon,  etc.,  in  his  church. 

He  is  now  about  55  years  of  age;  and  if  he  rounds  out  in 
his  present  parish  the  proverbial  threescore  and  ten  years, 
there  remain  for  himself  and  his  relatives  fifteen  years  more 
of  graft,  and  for  the  good  people  of  his  parish  fifteen  years 
more  of  priestly  sottishness,  simony  and  sacrilege. 

He  has  a  parochial  school  in  which  are  enrolled  over  a 
thousand  pupils,  who  are  taught  by  fifteen  sisters. 

Rev.  No.  27.     A  Preference  for  Black. 

He  was  caught  by  officers  in  citizen's  clothes  in  a  city  alley, 
at  midnight,  while  having  lascivious  relations  with  a  negress. 
As  the  officers  came  toward  them  they  separated,  he  going  to- 
ward the  west  and  she  toward  the  east.  One  officer  captured 
her  and  held  her.  The  other  officer  caught  the  priest,  who 
had  a  handkerchief  around  his  neck  to  conceal  his  Roman 
collar.  The  officer  asked  the  priest  to  come  with  him  to  where 
his  brother  officer  was  holding  the  negress,  saying :  "  That  ne- 
gro wench  may  have  robbed  you,  and  now  is  the  time  to  get 
your  money  if  she  has;  you  better  come  back  and  see."  The 
priest  swore  at  the  officer  and  said :  "  Who  are  you  ?  "  "I 
am  a  police  officer,"  was  the  reply.  "  Show  me  your  star," 
commanded  the  priest.  The  officer  did  so.  "  I  doubt  that 
you  are  an  officer;  I  will  go  only  with  a  uniformed  officer," 
said  Rev.  No.  27.  The  detective  whistled,  and  a  uniformed 
officer  immediately  appeared.  The  priest  refused  then  to  go 
at  all,  still  swearing.  The  officers  grabbed  the  priest's  arms, 
twisted  them  backwards  and  forced  him  to  go  to  where  the 
negress  was  being  held.  A  second  uniformed  officer  appeared 
and  asked :  "  Isn't  he  a  priest  ?  "  One  of  the  detectives  replied : 
"  I  think  so."  When  they  got  the  priest  to  where  the  negress 
was  being  held  the  detective  in  charge  of  her  said :  "  My  God ! 
you  hold  this  one,  and  let  me  hold  him."  This  exchange  was 
made,  and  the  detective  took  the  priest  aside  and  said :  "  My 
God!  Father,  what  has  come  over  you?  what  is  the  matter 


242  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

with  you  ?  "    The  priest  replied :  "  What  in  h —  do  you  mean  ? 

Do  you  take  me  for  a  d priest  ?  "     Said  the  detective : 

"  Father,  I  am  sorry  to  take  you  for  what  you  really  are  not 
but  what  the  people  suppose  you  to  be."  The  priest  then 
swore  and  said  he  had  sufficient  influence  to  get  them  all  re- 
moved and  he  would  do  business  with  them  and  get  their  stars 
taken  away  from  them  on  the  following  day.  Said  the  detec- 
tive :  "  If  you  don't  go  home  quietly,  Father,  I  will  tell  them 
who  and  what  you  are.  My  God!  Father,  I  live  in  your  par- 
ish, I  am  sorry  to  say."  Then  the  priest  said :  "  For  the  honor 
of  God  let  me  go."  The  officer  said :  "  You  had  better  go  and 
go  quickly;  take  the  one-thirty  car,"  and  he  released  him  and 
the  priest  hurried  away.  The  negress  was  taken  in  a  patrol 
wagon  to  a  station  where  she  was  fined  in  the  morning  for  her 
misconduct  of  the  night  before  with  the  priest.  The  priest 
went  home,  and  at  10  o'clock  that  morning  celebrated  Requiem 
High  Mass  over  the  remains  of  a  parishioner,  and  he  discoursed 
eloquently  upon  the  necessity  of  living  a  pure  and  holy  life, 
much  to  the  disgust  of  the  wife  of  one  of  the  detectives  who 
had  been  informed  of  the  celebrant's  midnight  love  affair  with 
the  colored  lady.  A  few  nights  after  the  arrest  of  the  negress 
the  officers  met  her  on  the  streets  while  she  was  pursuing  her 
avocation,  and  talked  with  her  about  her  relations  with  the 
priest.  They  wanted  to  find  out  if  she  knew  who  and  what 
he  really  was.  They  said  to  her :  "  That  man's  wife  will  tear 
the  wool  off  your  head  if  she  finds  out  about  your  doings  with 
her  husband."  Said  she :  "  Why,  he's  got  no  wife ;  he's  a  Cath- 
olic priest!"  "What?"  said  the  officers,  "what  do  you 
mean?  "  Said  she:  "  Why,  he's  my  bo';  I  had  a  bo'  of  culur, 
but  I  fired  him  las'  September  an'  ever  since  that  priest  has 
bin  my  bo' ;  he  calls  himself  Jack  McCarthy,  but  I  know  that 
isn't  his  right  name ;  I  could  find  his  right  name  if  I  wanted  to ; 
he's  a  priest  sure  enuf,  and  he  spends  one  night  every  week 
with  me;  why,  I  luv  him,  he's  a  cracker-jack." 

Rev.  No.  28,  plus  scores  and  scores.    Devotees  of  Bac- 
chus, Venus,  Graft  and  Gambling, 


A  DEVOTED  (?)   PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL  PRINCIPAL. 


244  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

The  man  in  the  foregoing  is  a  prominent  Catholic  priest. 
He  is  the  spiritual  adviser  of  a  large  female  academy,  to  which 
Protestant  girls  are  sent.  The  Propaganda  has  a  copy  of  this 
picture. 

"  THE  GATES  OF  HELL." 

The  priests  to  whom  I  have  referred  by  number  are  stren- 
uous objectors  to  lay  trustees,  and  vociferous  shouters  against 
the  "  godless  "  public  school. 

It  is  a  marvel  that  the  lightnings  of  the  wrath  of  God 
do  not  consume  grafting,  lecherous,  drunken  and  infidel  priests. 

People  of  America,  what  think  you  of  such  men  being 
the  principals  and  assistant  principals  of  schools  which  are 
training  American  youth? 

Our  Blessed  Savior  said  of  His  Church :  "  The  gates  of 
hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it."  Surely  His  words  find  a 
striking  illustration  in  the  faithfulness  of  so  many  of  the  Cath- 
olic laity  to  Holy  Mother  Church  despite  the  wolves  in  sheep's 
clothing  who  minister  in  holy  things  at  Her  sacred  altars. 

May  Almighty  God  soon  deliver  the  patient,  honest  and 
loyal  laity  from  the  ministrations  of  corrupt  priests. 

The  parochial  school  is  a  curse  to  the  Church  and  a  men- 
ace to  the  Nation  by  reason  of  the  pedagogic  deficiencies  and 
moral  delinquencies  of  its  principals  and  assistant  principals. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE   PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL  TEACHERS. 


The  parochial  school  is  fatally  defective  in  its  teaching 
staff.  This  declaration  will  be  seen  to  have  ample  founda- 
tion by  a  perusal  of  the  facts,  as  I  shall  conservatively  state 
them,  regarding  the  procuring,  the  ability,  the  training  and 
the  environment  of  the  parochial  school  teachers. 

Parochial  school  teachers,  by  the  law  or  custom  of  the 
Church,  are  members  of  some  Religious  Order,  the  female 
teachers  belonging  to  sisterhoods  and  the  male  teachers  to 
brotherhoods.  Over  ninety-five  per  cent  of  the  teaching  in  the 
parochial  schools  is  done  by  nuns. 

Let  us  see  how  the  parochial  school  teachers  are  secured. 
The  officials  of  the  Religious  Orders — nuns  and  monks — are 
constantly  on  the  alert  to  discover  subjects.  The  nuns  urge 
upon  girls  the  calm,  the  dignity,  the  blissfulness  and  the  honor 
of  a  life  wholly  devoted  to  God.  These  girls  are  most  gener- 
ally those  whose  parents  have  been  unable  to  give  them  edu- 
cational advantages,  and  they  and  their  relatives  feel  flattered 
and  honored  by  such  solicitation.  They  have,  as  a  rule,  but 
a  smattering  of  the  common  branches  as  taught  in  the  paro- 
chial school.  The  girls  are  also  told  how  angelic  they  will 
look  in  the  dress  of  a  nun,  and  what  a  pretty  photograph  they 
will  take  in  that  sacred  garb,  and  how  highly  esteemed  they  and 
their  families  will  be  by  the  people  at  large. 

The  sisters  in  the  parochial  schools  and  academies  coax 
and  urge  their  pupils  to  become  nuns.  The  priests  cooperate 
with  these  recruiting  sisters,  and  in  and  outside  of  the  con- 


246  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

fessional  they  flatter  and  coax  girls  in  the  same  way,  and  as- 
sure them,  as  their  spiritual  advisers,  that  they  have  a  vocation. 

Many  girls  become  postulants  at  an  early  age.  As  a  rule 
the  majority  of  the  nuns  enter  convents  while  under  legal 
age. 

If  a  girl  consents  to  become  a  sister  she  immediately  en- 
ters a  convent  as  a  postulant,  and  receives  the  appropriate 
garb.  A  few  months  later  she  is  received  as  a  member  of  the 
Order,  becomes  a  novice  and  receives  a  new  name  in  religion. 
She  remains  a  novice  from  six  to  twelve  months,  when  she 
becomes  a  professed  nun — that  is,  she  makes  her  solemn  vows 
of  poverty,  chastity  and  obedience.  The  whole  procedure, 
from  her  entrance  into  the  convent  as  a  postulant  till  she 
makes  her  solemn  vows,  requires  usually  about  two  years. 

American  convents  are  often  recruited  abroad.  Nuns 
are  sent  to  foreign  countries  to  procure  subjects.  In  1903  a 
prominent  Irish-American  politician  gave  a  letter  to  a  re- 
cruiting nun  in  which  he  extolled  her  sisterhood,  and  de- 
scribed the  beauty  of  the  life  of  its  members,  and  portrayed 
the  great  need  of  additional  members  to  carry  on  the  work  of 
converting  America;  and  he  particularly  advised  the  young 
women  of  his  native  section  to  become  postulants.  The  letter 
brought  forth  much  fruit. 

This  foreign  recruiting  is  greatly  helped  by  the  rigid  re- 
quirements to  which  postulants  are  subjected  in  certain  for- 
eign places.  For  instance,  a  young  lady  cannot  become  a  pos- 
tulant in  Ireland  unless  she  ha's  had  a  first-class  education, 
and  has  an  ample  dowry,  the  latter  generally  being  about 
$2,500.00;  and  her  personal  character  and  family  history  for 
generations  must  be  above  reproach.  These  rigid  rules  make 
the  sisterhoods  in  Ireland  very  exclusive;  but  this  very  ex- 
clusiveness  produces  a  fertile  field  for  the  American  recruit- 
ing nuns,  for  in  America  these  strict  requirements  are  un- 
known. There  is  one  dowry,  thank  God,  which  these  im- 


TEACHERS.  247 

ported  Irish  girls  bring  with  them,  and  that  is  virtue.     Na- 
tive recruits  are  generally  secured  in  the  parochial  schools. 

Recruits,  as  a  rule,  are  immediately  put  to  teaching.  With- 
out training,  without  pedagogic  ability,  and  without  experi- 
ence they  are  placed  over  the  Catholic  children  to  impart  to 
them  secular  knowledge  and  religious  instruction. 

Postulants,  dressed  in  the  garb  of  professed  nuns,  are  fre- 
quently sent  the  next  day  after  entering  the  convent  to  teach 
classes  in  parochial  schools.  A  girl,  seventeen  years  of  age, 
a  pupil  in  a  prominent  Catholic  academy  in  America,  became 
a  postulant,  and  next  day  she  was  put  over  a  class  of  about 
eighty  children  in  a  parochial  school ;  and  a  few  years  later 
she  was  put  in  charge  of  the  eighth  grade  in  a  parochial  schoo1. 
She  had  been  a  stupid  scholar,  and  when  she  became  a  postu- 
lant she  was  only  in  the  fifth  grade.  She  could  not  have  hon- 
estly passed  a  public  school  teachers'  examination  anywhere 
in  America ;  yet  she  was  put  to  teaching  in  a  parochial  school. 

But  if  these  deficiencies  did  not  exist  there  would  still 
be  the  grave  danger  that  the  secular  instruction  would  fail 
to  have  its  relative  importance  recognized.  A  teacher  is  most 
likely  to  see  everything  through  the  glass  of  the  dominant 
motive.  If  the  dominant  motive  is  religious,  then  it  follows 
naturally  that  religion  will  receive  the  preponderant  emphasis. 
The  Catechism  might  appear  to  outrank  greatly  all  other 
studies.  The  Catechism  has  its  place,  but  may  not  too  much 
Catechism  be  as  harmful  to  youth  as  too  little? 

Again,  parochial  school  teachers  are  in  great  danger  of 
/  mental   stagnation  and   retrogression.     What   incentive  have 
/      they  to  keep  abreast  of  the  times?     They  are  free  from  the 
criticism  of  the  pupils'  parents;  they  are  not  subjected  to  ex- 
aminations; they  are  not  held  to  any  established  secular  ped- 
agogic standards ;  and  they  are  answerable  to  ecclesiastics  who 
are  very  uncertain  intellectual,  moral  and  spiritual  quantities. 
r         Parochial  school  teachers  receive  individually  no  pay  for 
f    their  servicesj  hence  their  toil  is  reduced  to  an  unrequited 


248  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

/drudgery,  except  the  compensation  which  may  be  found  in 
'.  religious  sentiments.  If  this  religious  reward  is  absent,  then 
there  is  an  utter  lack  of  incentive  to  greater  achievement  in 
their  teaching  work;  and,  if  this  recompense  is  experienced, 
by  its  very  nature  the  only  incentive  it  furnishes  is  to  become 
a  better  religious  teacher,  and  that  in  the  sense  of  achieving 
greater  success  in  imparting  catechetical  instruction. 

The  secular  instruction  imparted  to  the  children  in  paro- 
chial schools  is  deplorably  weak.  Nevertheless  ecclesiastics 
laud  to  the  skies  these  incapable  teachers,  and  even  assert  that 
they  are  endowed  with  supernatural  grace  for  their  teaching 
work.  A  prominent  Archbishop  said  in  a  sermon  which  he 
delivered  June  26,  1904: 

The  parochial  schools  surpass  all  others.  How  could  it  be 
otherwise?  Its  teachers — instruments  of  God's  Church — are 
inspired  by  the  Holy  Ghost. 

6  Parochial  school  teachers  are  grossly  incompetent.  I  am 
:onvinced  that  but  a  very  few  of  them  could  pass  the  pre- 
scribed examinations  for  public  school  teachers. 

I  know  of  one  parochial  school  in  America  out  of  which 
thirty-three  sisters  have  been  turned  by  the  rector  during  the 
past  four  years,  on  the  ground  of  their  ''marked  incompetency." 
The  last  eleven  were  turned  out  at  the  very  time  Archbishop 
Quigley  was  attacking  the  public  school  in  1903.  These  nuns 
belonged  to  one  of  the  most  prominent  sisterhoods  in  their 
Archdiocese.  They  were  sent  to  other  parochial  schools. 

The  religious  instruction  comprises  a  smattering  of  the 
Catechism,  a  rehearsal  of  astounding  ancient  and  modern 
miracles,  dissertations  upon  the  Christlikeness  of  the  paro- 
chial school  officers,  and  some  other  odds  and  ends. 

Parochial  school  teachers  tell  the  parochial  school  chil- 
dren continually  that  the  anger  of  God  will  immediately  visit 
any  one  who  makes  bold  to  comment  unfavorably  upon  a 
cardinal,  a  bishop,  a  priest,  a  monk  or  a  nun.  This  instruction 


TEACHERS.  249 

is  imparted  to  close  the  mouths  of  those  pupils  who  keep  open 
their  ears  and  eyes. 

The  nuns  are  completely  under  the  thumb  of  the  pastors. 
They  dare  not  oppose  their  reprehensible  schemes.  Their 
activity  in  church  fairs  shows  their  subserviency  to  the  wishes 
of  the  parochial  school  principal. 

At  church  fairs  the  parochial  school  teachers  attend  the 
"  afternoons "  for  the  children,  and  they  often  instruct  the 
children  how  to  play  the  various  gambling  devices,  assist  them 
in  placing  their  bets,  and  help  the  little  children  put  their 
money  into  the  slot-machines.  These  nuns  frequently  manage 
two  booths,  one  for  boys  and  the  other  for  girls  so  as 
to  create  a  rivalry  between  them.  Articles  for  the  fair 
are  solicited  by  the  nuns  and  the  children;  chance-books  are 
issued  on  each  article,  and  each  parochial  school  pupil  has 
to  take  a  chance-book.  The  children  sell  these  chances,  and 
the  child  who  sells  the  most  in  each  grade  gets  a  small  prize. 
The  teachers'  booths  make  the  most  money. 

The  parochial  school  principal  can,  if  he  chooses,  make 
life  miserable  for  the  parochial  school  teachers.  He  can  dis- 
charge them  at  will.  He  can  overwhelm  them  with  petty  an- 
noyances. He  is  their  spiritual  confessor,  and  therefore  has 
them  completely  in  his  power.  Bold,  indeed,  would  be  that  par- 
ochial school  teacher  who  would  enter  any  protest  against  the 
unclerical  conduct  of  her  principal.  But  if  she  were  courage- 
ous enough  to  complain,  her  complaint  would  not  bring  re- 
dress. Her  course  would  be  interpreted  as  an  attack  on 
authority;  and  the  parochial  school  superintendent,  instead  of 
rebuking  the  corrupt  principal,  would  have  the  complaining 
teacher  punished.  Nuns  have  been  exiled  for  such  conduct. 

All  the  nuns  in  a  convent  must  be  in  subjection  to  their 
sister  superioress.  Her  will  is  law.  Her  will  absolutely 
dominates  them.  The  nuns  dare  not  express  any  will  of  their 
own.  Such  arbitrary  power  in  the  hands  of  one  woman,  who 
may  be  unchristian  at  heart,  is  fraught  with  the  gravest  peril 


25O  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

to  any  of  the  nuns  who  do  not  cater  to  her  and  enjoy  her  favor. 
Think  you  that  under  such  conditions  a  sister  will  oppose  her 
superioress  or  refuse  to  acquiesce  in  her  every  wish? 

Let  no  one  imagine  that  the  lives  of  the  nuns  are  full 
of  unalloyed  happiness.  If  the  truth  were  known  the  Cath- 
olic people  would  be  astounded  by  the  number  of  sisters  who 
carry  crushed  and  bleeding  hearts.  Not  infrequently  nuns 
summon  up  courage  enough  to  leave  the  sisterhood,  despite 
all  suggestions  of  shame  and  threats  of  eternal  damnation. 

Parochial  school  teachers  live  in  too  narrow  a  groove 
and  breathe  too  confined  an  atmosphere  to  warrant  Catholic 
parents  in  feeling  satisfied  with  having  their  children  under 
them,  even  if  there  were  no  question  as  to  their  qualifications 
to  teach.  Catholic  children  should  have  natures  over  them 
which  are  strong,  broad,  sympathetic  and  expanding. 

As  far  as  the  monks  are  concerned  many  of  them  are 
devotees  of  Bacchus  and  Venus. 

I  assert  again  that  the  parochial  school  is  fatally  weak 
in  its  teachers  because  of  their  lack  of  pedagogic  talent,  train- 
ing, incentive  and  independence. 


CHAPTER   VII. 


GRAFT !     GRAFT ! !     GRAFT ! !  ! 


I  HAVE  already  in  geneial  terms  charged  the  parochial 
school  officials  with  being  grafters.  In  this  chapter  I  will 
give  some  forms  of  clerical  grafting.  I  do  not  pretend  to  de- 
scribe all  of  the  nefarious  methods  by  which  ecclesiastics  filch 
money  out  of  the  pockets  of  the  faithful  and  generous  Catholic 
people,  who  blindly  imagine  that  their  gifts  of  money  are  en- 
tirely devoted  to  holy  purposes,  and  have  no  suspicion  that 
their  contributions  go  to  the  personal  enrichment  of  priests 
and  prelates.  It  is  not  surprising,  however,  that  they  should 
be  so  easily  deceived,  for  what  could  be  more  natural  than  for 
them  to  believe  without  a  question  the  statements  of  the  shep- 
herds of  their  souls?  Taught  from  infancy  to  regard  priests 
and  prelates  as  holy  beings,  they  must  not  be  unduly 
blamed  for  shutting  their  eyes  to  all  signs  of  clerical  hypocrisy, 
nor  must  they  be  too  harshly  censured  for  coming  with  the 
greatest  reluctance  to  a  realization  of  the  frauds  which  are 
daily  practiced  upon  them  in  the  name  of  religion  by  the  am- 
bassadors of  Jesus  Christ 

My  dear  Catholic  readers,  I  beg  you  to  remember  that 
a  grafting  priest  turns  everything  he  possibly  can  into  money. 
Nothing  is  too  sacred  to  deter  him.  He  grafts  on  the  living 
and  he  grafts  on  the  dead.  He  traffics  in  the  holy  things  of 
religion,  and  he  does  no  service  without  making  money  out 
of  it  if  he  possibly  can.  When  he  asks-  you  for  money  for 
the  cause  of  God  it  is  his  own  pocket  that  is  uppermost  in  his 
thought.  He  is  a  vampire  that  sucks  the  very  life  blood  of 
the  poor.  He  is  worse  than  an  infidel  because  he  destroys 


252  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

while  professing  to  be  a  friend.  He  is  a  wolf  in  sheep's  cloth- 
ing who  gains  access  to  the  hearts  of  the  people  by  the  garb  of 
godliness  which  disarms  their  suspicion.  If  you  have  a  graft- 
er for  your  pastor  remember  that  you  have  a  rector  who  has 
not  at  heart  the  good  of  your  souls;  his  sole  aim  is  to  get  as 
much  money  out  of  you  as  he  can. 

I  seek  no  quarrel  with  the  Church  over  the  feasts  and 
fasts  and  ceremonies  which  She  in  Her  wisdom  has  enjoined 
upon  the  faithful,  and  I  do  not  begrudge  an  honest  priest  a 
decent  livelihood.  What  I  oppose  is  the  prostitution  of  sacred 
things  by  clerical  grafters  to  the  service  of  mammon,  and  the 
introduction  by  them  of  various  religious  side-shows  for  the 
purpose  of  making  graft. 

An  old  Irish- American  gentleman  said  to  me  one  day: 
"  My  God !  Father  Crowley,  the  priests  are  nothing  but  graft- 
ers; it  is  nothing  but  money,  money,  money,  the  whole  time; 
they  are  bleeding  the  people  of  money  day  and  night;  they 
are  hotter  after  graft  than  the  Irish  landlords  are  after  their 
rack-rents;  I  left  Ireland  to  escape  the  clutches  of  the  grasp- 
ing, rack-renting  landlords,  but  I  find  I  jumped  from  the  fry- 
ing pan  into  the  fire,  as  the  clergy  here  are  worse  than  the 
landlords  there ;  I  am  so  sick  and  tired  of  these  reverend  graft- 
ers that  I  have  lost  all  confidence  in  them,  and  I  intend  from 
now  on  to  do  business  straight  with  the  Almighty  and  boycott 
the  clerical  middlemen." 

I  reserve  for  a  later  chapter  a  full  discussion  of  the  dis- 
astrous results  to  the  Church  of  clerical  grafting,  hypocrisy 
and  immorality. 

HOLY  ORDERS  GRAFT. 

The  Church  educates  the  young  men  who  are  to  enter 
Her  priesthood  in  this  country,  and  the  Catholic  people  once 
a  year,  in  every  church  in  America,  are  taxed  for  their  educa- 
tion, the  offering  being  called  "  The  Seminary  Collection." 
The  explanation  given  for  this  tax  is  that  the  parents  of  the 


GRAFT.  253 

young  men  are  too  poor  to  pay  for  their  care  and  tuition. 
Each  candidate  has  to  be  adopted  by  a  bishop  or  an  archbishop, 
and  in  order  to  secure  adoption  he  has  to  obtain  the  recom- 
mendation of  his  parish  rector.  For  this  recommendation  it  is 
not  unusual  for  the  parish  rector  to  get  an  annual  graft  until 
the  candidate  is  ordained.  The  pastor  is  likely  to  object  on 
some  ground,  real  or  imaginary,  to  his  ordination,  if  the  graft 
is  not  forthcoming. 

This  Annual  Seminary  Collection  is  vehemently  urged 
upon  the  people  "  to  sustain  the  Church  in  her  efforts  to  Chris- 
tianize infidel  America."  The  pastor  keeps  at  least  fifty  per 
cent,  of  the  Seminary  Collection  for  his  graft. 

When  a  priest  is  ordained  he  aims  to  say  his  first  public 
Mass  in  his  native  parish.  He  sends  out  a  card  of  ordination 
with  an  elaborate  card  of  invitation  to  his  first  Mass.  The 
Mass  is  announced  from  the  pulpit  and  in  the  religious  and 
secular  press  weeks  ahead.  The  relatives  and  friends  of  the 
celebrant  and  other  worshipers  throng  the  church.  Usually 
the  Mass  is  a  Solemn  High.  A  sermon  is  preached  by  the 
pastor  or  some  other  ecclesiastic  on  the  dignity,  the  beauty 
and  the  power  of  the  priesthood.  A  special  collection  is  taken 
up  for  the  young  celebrant  but  he  gets  just  what  the  rector 
chooses  to  give  him.  At  one  of  these  services  there  was  at 
least  five  hundred  dollars  received,  but  the  pastor  gave  the 
young  celebrant  only  twenty-five  dollars,  although  the  young 
priest  had  paid  fifty  dollars  for  the  special  music. 

PROMOTION  GRAFT. 

This  graft  is  made  by  priests  when  they  are  promoted 
from  the  place  of  assistant  pastor  to  a  rectorship,  and  when 
pastors  are  transferred  from  one  pastorate  to  another.  When 
these  events  take  place  the  Catholic  people  are  duly  advised, 
and  influences  are  set  to  work  to  lead  them  to  give  the  promoted 
priest  or  transferred  pastor  a  monetary  testimonial.  Circulars 
are  gotten  up  by  the  priest  and  his  clerical  friends,  setting  forth 


254  THE   PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

the  propriety  of  a  testimonial  purse,  and  public  meetings  are 
called  to  carry  the  suggestion  into  effect. 

Large  sums  of  money  are  collected  in  this  way.  Those 
who  do  not  contribute  are  likely  to  be  blacklisted  by  the  priests 
of  the  parish  and  to  have  opprobrium  heaped  upon  them.  This 
might  cause  a  delinquent  serious  embarrassment  at  a  time  when 
spiritual  consolation  is  wanted  by  himself  or  some  member 
of  his  family. 

VACATION  GRAFT. 

•  Catholic  pastors  work  so  hard  for  the  glory  of  God  that 
they  must  have  vacations  in  which  to  recuperate  from  the  wear 
and  tear  of  their  arduous  labors  for  the  salvation  of  souls. 
They  manipulate  their  vacation  necessities  in  such  a  way  that 
the  faithful  are  asked  to  contribute  either  to  a  purse  to  enable 
them  to  get  away  or  to  a  purse  after  they  return  to  recoup  them 
for  their  vacation  expenses.  The  spdalities  and  societies  make 
large  contributions. 

The  subject  is  so  adroitly  presented  to  the  people  that 
their  giving  becomes  a  sign  of  their  faith. 

Vacation  graft  is  by  no  means  to  be  despised.  It  runs 
in  the  aggregate  into  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  annually. 

ANNIVERSARY  GRAFT. 

Birthday:  Parochial  school  children  are  harassed  annual- 
ly for  money  for  a  birthday  present  for  the  pastor.  No  child 
can  be  comfortable  who  fails  to  contribute.  A  tax  is  levied 
upon  each  child,  and  the  money  comes  out  of  the  pockets  of 
the  hard-working  parents.  It  is  simply  an  annual  graft. 
Adult  Catholics  may  and  do  contribute  directly.  Apparently 
the  pastor  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  celebration  of  his  birth- 
day, but  in  reality  he  is  the  prime  mover. 

Ordination:  The  anniversary  of  the  ordination  of  a  pastor 
cannot  be  allowed  to  go  unremembered,  and  so  a  purse  has  to 
be  forthcoming  to  duly  commemorate  the  event.  The  paroch- 
ial school  children  are  taxed  and  the  societies  and  sodalities 


GRAFT.  255 

are  virtually  forced  to  contribute.  The  priest  himself  and  not 
the  people  sets  the  machinery  in  motion  for  the  collection  of 
ordination  graft. 

Silver  Jubilee:  When  a  priest  reaches  the  twenty-fifth 
anniversary  of  his  ordination  a  great  occasion  is  made  of  it. 
It  is  called  his  silver  jubilee.  Great  efforts  are  put  forth  to 
fittingly  commemorate  this  anniversary.  They  crystallize  in  a 
purse  for  His  Reverence,  or  His  Lordship,  or  His  Grace,  or 
His  Eminence,  as  his  title  may  be.  Everybody  is  asked  to  con- 
tribute to  this  purse,  from  the  highest  ecclesiastic  and  civil  of- 
ficial down  to  the  humblest  toiler  on.  the  streets ;  non-Catholics 
are  solicited  for  funds  as  well  as  Catholics.  Laudatory  ad- 
dresses are  presented  and  sumptuous  banquets  are  served.  Sil- 
ver jubilee  receipts  as  a  rule  are  exceedingly  comforting  in 
size. 

Silver  jubilees  are  supposed  to  be  the  result  of  the  spon- 
taneous action  of  the  Catholic  people,  but  those  who  really 
understand  about  their  origin  know  that  the  priest  whose  an- 
niversary is  celebrated  is  the  one  who  starts  and  works  up  the 
enthusiasm. 

BAPTISMAL  GRAFT. 

At  the  baptism  of  a  child  of  a  poor  couple  by  a  prominent 
pastor  and  parochial  school  principal,  its  father  paid 
the  priest  two  dollars,  and  each  of  the  sponsors  gave  a  dollar. 
The  priest  looked  contemptuously  at  the  "  two  dollars  "  and 
scornfully  asked :  "  Is  that  all  I  am  to  get  from  you,  Pat  ?  " 
"  That's  all  I  have,  Father !  "  "  Well,  now,  see  here  Pat,  if 
you  are  not  ready  to  pay  at  least  five  dollars  for  a  job  like 
this,  you  must  stop  making  children !  "  The  poor  man  had 
borrowed  the  two  dollars! 

On  the  Sunday  following  baptisms  some  pastors  announce 
or  have  announced  from  the  pulpit,  just,  before  the  sermon, 
the  amounts  given  at  such  baptisms  by  the  father  and  each  of 
the  sponsors.  This  practice  of  giving  names  and  amounts  is 
pursued  to  shame  into  larger  giving  any  prospective  fathers 


256  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

and  sponsors,  and  also  to  prevent  the  assistant  pastors  "  knock- 
ing down  "  baptismal  offerings. 

The  baptizing  of  infants  is  a  profitable  industry  with  the 
Catholic  clergy.  Baptism  is  the  first  Sacrament,  but  priests 
and  prelates  turn  it  into  an  institution  for  graft.  There  is 
probably  not  one  baptism  in  ten  thousand  in  the  Catholic 
Church  in  America  which  does  not  bring  to  the  pastor  a  fee 
ranging  from  at  least  two  to  fifty  or  more  dollars.  As  a  rule 
the  infants  are  baptized  on  Sunday  afternoon,  and  the  priest, 
to  spare  himself  labor,  baptizes  "  in  a  bunch  "  all  the  infants 
presented,  and  frequently  he  gets  confused,  forgets  and  makes 
mistakes.  He  never  forgets  the  baptismal  fee,  however.  There 
are  thousands  upon  thousands  of  infants  baptized  in  the  Cath- 
olic Church  in  this  country  every  year.  Think  of  the  graft 
which  is  made  out  of  this  holy  Sacrament! 

Grafting  priests  lead  some  Catholic  parents  to  believe  that 
if  the  first  fourteen  verses  of  the  first  chapter  of  St.  John's 
Gospel  are  read  after  the  Sacrament  of  Baptism,  the  baptized 
infant  will  never  be  troubled  by  fairies  or  ghosts.  For  the 
reading  of  these  few  verses  of  Scripture  the  grafting  priest 
expects  and  gets  an  additional  offering. 

PENANCE  GRAFT. 

Grafting  priests  do  not  scruple  to  use  the  confessional  for 
the  making  of  mercenary  gain.  For  example,  they  will  com- 
pel people  who  have  gone  to  fortune  tellers  outside  of  church 
fairs  to  put  an  amount  into  the  poor  box  equal  to  the  fee  paid 
to  the  fortune  teller.  The  pastor  is  the  custodian  of  the  poor 
box  and  has  sole  access  to  and  entire  control  of  its  contents. 

As  assistant  pastors  do  not  have  access  to  the  poor  box 
they  generally  pursue  the  plan  of  ordering  as  a  part  of  the 
penance  the  having  of  one  or  more  Masses  said,  and  then  and 
there  they  receive  the  offering  for  the  Mass  or  the  penitent 
brings  it  to  them  later. 

I  know  a  poor  woman  who  paid  a  fee  to  a  Gypsy  fortune 
teller,  out  of  charity,  and  later  went  to  confession,  and  the 


GRAFT.  257 

priest  compelled  her  to  pay  him  five  dollars  as  a  fine  for  hav- 
ing listened  to  the  fortune  teller. 

FIRST  COMMUNION  GRAFT. 

In  America  Catholic  children  receive  their  first  Holy 
Communion  at  about  the  age  of  ten  or  twelve  years.  For  this 
ceremony  their  clothing  is  prescribed.  Certain  stores  are  urged 
upon  the  children.  The  nuns  sell  the  children  certain  articles 
such  as  ribbons  and  sashes,  wreaths  and  veils.  The  children 
also  buy  rosary  beads,  scapulars,  prayer  books,  medals  and 
candles.  For  the  candles  they  pay  twenty-five  cents  for  two 
or  fifteen  cents  for  one,  and  they  are  supposed  to  carry  them 
lighted,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  they  do  not.  After  the  cere- 
mony the  candles  are  taken  away  from  them  and  either  used 
on  the  altar  or  sold  to  the  members  of  the  next  Confirmation 
class. 

There  is  a  first  Holy  Communion  certificate  which  is 
filled  out  for  the  child  and  signed  by  the  pastor,  for  which 
there  is  a  prescribed  fee.  Often  the  children  of  a  first  Holy 
Communion  class  are  requested  or  commanded  by  the  nuns 
to  contribute  a  certain  amount  to  make  up  a  purse  for  their 
poor  pastor  in  honor  of  their  first  Holy  Communion. 

CONFIRMATION  GRAFT. 

Confirmation  is  the  next  Sacrament  following  the  first 
Holy  Communion,  and  may  come  a  year  later.  For  it  the  same 
furnishings  are  virtually  prescribed  as  for  the  first  Holy  Com- 
munion, and  practically  the  same  graft  is  made. 

The  Sacrament  of  Confirmation  can  be  conferred  by  no 
Church  dignitary  less  exalted  than  a  Bishop.  As  a  rule  (the 
children  confirmed  are  taxed  so  much  each  to  make  up  a  purse 
for  the  dignitary  who  confirms  them,  and  to  pay  for  the  sump- 
tuous banquet  which  is  given  in  his  honor.  For  such  ban- 
quets professional  caterers  are  generally  engaged,  and  the 


258  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

plates  range  in  price  from  five  to  ten  dollars,  the  price  includ- 
ing wines  but  rarely  the  cigars. 

There  is  a  Confirmation  Certificate  filled  out  for  each  child 
and  signed  by  the  pastor,  for  which  there  is  a  prescribed  fee. 

MATRIMONIAL  GRAFT. 

When  a  Catholic  gentleman  wishes  to  get  married  he  goes 
to  the  pastor  and  makes  arrangements  for  the  ceremony.  Or- 
dinarily the  minimum  fee  for  the  service  is  ten  dollars ;  in  rare 
cases  it  may  be  only  five  dollars. 

If  the  contracting  parties  wish  to  avoid  the  publishing 
of  the  bans  they  have  to  get  what  is  called  a  dispensation  for 
which  the  pastor  is  paid  at  least  five  dollars.  It  is  issued  by 
the  Chancellor  of  the  Diocese  or  Archdiocese,  and  the  pastor 
may  pay  him  or  may  not. 

If  one  of  the  contracting  parties  is  a  non-Catholic  a  dis- 
pensation for  the  marriage  has  to  be  obtained  from  the  Bishop 
or  Archbishop,  for  which  cash  down  has  to  be  paid,  the  amount 
being  at  least  five  dollars.  The  marriage  in  this  instance,  how- 
ever, cannot  take  place  in  a  Catholic  church,  and  at  it,  wherever 
it  takes  place,  the  officiating  priest  cannot  wear  the  sacred 
vestments. 

If  the  wedding  is  held  in  a  church,  the  contracting  parties 
must  pay  at  least  fifteen  dollars  extra  for  having  the  organ 
played  if  they  want  that  instrument  used,  and  if  they  have 
singing  they  must  pay  still  more.  If  they  want  the  church  bells 
rung  for  a  few  minutes  they  must  pay  a  fee  of  at  least  twenty- 
five  dollars.  If  there  is  a  floral  display  with  an  awning  and 
a  carpet  from  the  church  to  the  sidewalk,  they  must  pay  an 
extra  fee. 

Candles  are  supposed  to  be  lighted  at  every  wedding  cere- 
mony when  the  contracting  parties  are  Catholics.  Two  can- 
dles are  furnished  by  the  pastor.  If  more  candles  are  wanted 
an  extra  fee  is  required. 


GRAFT.  259 

Catholic  priests  sometimes  officiate  at  the  weddings  of  di- 
vorced people.  When  they  are  called  upon  to  marry  individ- 
uals who  have  been  married  previously  but  not  validly  accord- 
ing to  the  doctrine  of  the  Church,  they  take  advantage  of  the 
situation  to  exact  large  fees. 

A  priest  showed  me  five  hundred  dollars  that  he  had  just 
received  as  a  wedding  fee  for  officiating  at  a  marriage  though 
the  bride  had  a  living  husband.  This  last  wedding  was  held 
in  a  Catholic  church  and  at  it  there  was  celebrated  a  Solemn 
High  Mass. 

The  law  of  the  Church  provides  that  Catholics  shall  be 
married  by  their  own  pastor  and  they  cannot  be  married  by 
any  one  else  without  getting  his  consent.  But  priests  and 
prelates  deliberately  break  this  law  and  marry  couples  without 
the  consent  of  their  pastor,  and  sometimes  against  his  protest, 
and  without  knowing  anything  about  the  antecedents  of  the 
contracting  parties.  Why  do  they  thus  violate  the  law  of  the 
Church?  Because  they  get  the  fee. 

I  call  attention  to  these  marriage  fees  chiefly  to  prevent 
my  readers  losing  sight  of  this  prolific  source  of  revenue  when 
they  attempt  to  calculate  the  income  of  Catholic  pastors. 

Matrimony  is  one  of  the  seven  Sacraments  of  the  Cath- 
olic Church.  I  leave  it  to  the  calm  judgment  of  my  readers  to 
say  whether  the  various  fees  in  connection  with  a  wedding  cere- 
mony which  are  exacted  by  the  representatives  of  Jesus  Christ 
do  not  show  a  prostitution  of  a  holy  Sacrament  to  clerical 
gain. 

I  am  unable  to  say  how  large  the  fees  are  of  Bishops  and 
Archbishops, — perhaps  they  officiate  for  nothing!  The  wed- 
ding fees  of  Cardinals  are  evidently  not  to  be  despised. 

First  and  second  cousins  are  allowed  by  the  Church  to 
marry  on  securing  a  dispensation  for  which  a  fee  is  exacted, 
its  size  depending  upon  the  wealth  of  the  contracting  parties. 

The  law  of  the  Church  is  that  a  man  may  marry  his  de- 
ceased wife's  sister,  in  spite  of  any  adverse  law  of  the  country, 


26O  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

provided  he  secures  a  dispensation,  and  of  course  this  costs  a 
fee. 

EXTREME  UNCTION  GRAFT. 

Even  the  administration  of  the  Sacrament  of  Extreme 
Unction  is  made  an  occasion  for  grafting  by  clerical  grafters. 
I  content  myself  with  relating  the  following  incident:  One 
of  the  most  prominent  pastors  in  a  great  Archdiocese 
refused  to  administer  this  Sacrament  unless  he  got  cash  down. 
He  was  called  to  the  bedside  of  a  poor  woman  whose  husband 
was  a  Protestant.  She  had  not  attended  the  Catholic  Church 
since  her  marriage — two  years.  The  priest  put  everybody 
out  of  her  room,  and  said  to  her :  "  You  have  not  been  to  church 
for  two  years ;  this  has  kept  me  out  of  $28.00  pew  rent ;  before 
I  hear  your  confession  and  give  you  the  last  Sacraments  of 
the  Church  you  must  pay  me  that  $28.00."  The  dying  woman 
replied :  "  My  husband  has  been  out  of  work  most  of  the  time ; 
there  are  two  doctors  attending  me  for  several  weeks,  and  I 
have  not  a  cent  in  the  house."  He  then  produced  a  blank 
promissory  note,  filled  it  out  and  asked  her  to  sign  it.  She 
said :  "  No,  Father,  I  do  not  want  to  go  before  God  with  such 
a  promise  on  my  soul  which  may  never  be  fulfilled."  Taking 
his  hat  he  answered :  "  Then  die  as  you  are !  "  And  he  went 
away. 

LAST  WILL  AND  TESTAMENT  GRAFT. 

Catholic  clerical  grafters  ply  their  wicked  arts  in  the  last 
sickness  of  Catholic  people  who  have  means.  People  of  pov- 
erty receive  scant  attention  and  are  sometimes  roundly  abused 
for  calling  the  priest  at  an  inconvenient  time  and  for  not  pro- 
viding such  essentials  as  candles,  holy  water,  cotton,  salt  and 
water.  Rich  people  are  fawned  upon  and  obsequiously  served, 
while  every  effort  is  made  to  get  a  personal  legacy  for  the  Bish- 
op or  Archbishop  so  that  the  support  of  that  dignitary  will  be 
had  in  case  there  should  be  a  contest  over  the  will,  to  say  noth- 
ing of  the  desire  to  curry  favor  with  His  Lordship  or  His 
Grace, 


GRAFT.  26l 

Catholic  priests  and  prelates  are  not  strangers  to  probate 
courts  in  the  ^various  States  of  the  American  Republic.  Hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  dollars  get  into  clerical  hands  through 
last  will  and  testament  graft. 

FUNERAL  GRAFT. 

The  law  of  the  Church  is  that  if  a  Catholic  fails  to  make 
his  Easter  duty  he  thereby  excommunicates  himself,  and  if  he 
then  dies  without  having  the  ministrations  of  a  priest  no  re- 
ligious service  of  any  kind  can  be  held  over  his  remains,  and 
his  body  cannot  be  buried  in  consecrated  ground.  Is  this  law 
observed  in  America?  No,  not  when  the  relatives  of  the  de- 
ceased have  money.  In  fact,  the  breaking  of  the  Church  law 
is  a  prolific  source  of  graft.  What  will  not  faithful  and  devout 
Catholics  give  to  have  religious  rites  over  the  remains  of 
a  beloved  relative,  both  for  the  salvation  of  the  deceased  and 
to  save  the  family  from  the  scandal  of  having  a  relative  buried 
like  a  dog?  The  bodies  of  persons  who  have  failed  to  make 
their  Easter  duty  and  who  have  then  died  without  the  last 
sacraments  are  carried  into  the  Church,  the  altars  are  heavily 
draped,  a  great  number  of  candles  are  burning,  Solemn  High 
Mass  is  sung,  fulsome  eulogies  are  pronounced,  and  the  bodies 
are  laid  away  in  consecrated  ground.  This  is  done  throughout 
America  every  day  of  the  week.  High  church  dignitaries  often 
officiate. 

Most  awful  is  the  effect  of  funeral  graft.  The  children 
of  the  deceased,  the  relatives,  the  friends  and  the  neighbors 
understand  the  horrid  hypocrisy  and  remark,  "  Why  should  we 
lead  a  good  life  and  go  to  Mass?  If  there  is  money  left  when 
we  die  we  are  sure  of  a  good  send  off." 

Catholics  deliberately  fail  to  make  their  Easter  duty  and 
neglect  all  of  their  other  religious  obligations.  They  are  taken 
sick,  the  priest  is  sent  for  and  the  sick  receive  the  last  Sacra- 
ments, and  thus  they  are  entitled  to  Christian  burial.  If  the 
relatives  have  money  the  deceased  receive  as  marked  honors 


262  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

in  the  funeral  rites  as  are  accorded  to  Catholic  people  who 
have  lived  the  most  exemplary  lives. 

The  remains  of  the  most  abandoned  people,  such  as  thieves, 
murderers  and  prostitutes,  who  have  died  in  the  very  act  of 
sin,  are  carried  into  Catholic  churches  and  given  all  possible 
honor  and  interred  in  consecrated  ground. 

According  to  Catholic  teaching  the  soul  of  a  Catholic  who 
failed  to  make  his  Easter  duty  and  thereafter  abandoned  all 
other  religious  obligations  and  died  without  receiving  the  last 
sacraments,  does  not  go  to  purgatory  but  goes  immediately 
and  directly  into  hell,  and  "  out  of  hell  there  is  no  redemption." 
According  to  Catholic  doctrine  the  destiny  of  that  soul  is  ir- 
revocably fixed,  and  it  must  remain  in  hell  for  all  eternity. 
This  teaching  applies  to  any  human  being  who  dies  with  the 
guilt  of  even  one  mortal  sin  on  his  soul.  Notwithstanding 
this  positive  teaching1  priests  and  prelates  take  money  for  fu- 
neral services  which  they  know  are  but  "  a  mockery,  a  delusion 
and  a  snare."  In  addition  they  get  immense  graft  from  the 
relatives  and  friends  for  Masses  for  the  liberation  of  the  soul 
when  according  to  Catholic  doctrine  there  is  no  liberation. 
What  explains  this  inconsistency?  Is  it  a  clerical  want  of 
faith  in  the  doctrine?.  Is  it  graft?  Is  it  both? 

One  of  the  most  prominent  pastors  in  America  makes  it 
a  point  to  say  all  the  funeral  Masses  which  are  said  in  his 
church,  and  at  the  funerals  of  individuals  whose  lives 
have  been  most  vicious  and  sinful  he  delivers  eulogies, 
in  the  course  of  which  he  expresses  his  sorrow  over  the  great 
loss  to  the  parish,  and  he  weeps  copiously.  Then  he  peers 
up  at  the  rafters  and  states  that  he  sees  the  soul  of  the  de- 
parted in  heaven,  and  often  he  declares  that  he  hears  the  de- 
ceased singing  with  the  angels  and  archangels.  Later  he  re- 
minds his  hearers  of  the  frailty  of  all  things  human,  and  sug- 
gests that  possibly  his  eye-sight  and  hearing  may  be  defective, 
and  he  implores  them  to  make  sure  of  the  eternal  salvation  of 
their  loved  one  by  having  him  say  some  requiem  Masses.  Of 


GRAFT.  263 

course  he  does  not  say  Masses  for  nothing.  He  is  the  shep- 
herd of  at  least  fifteen  thousand  Catholics. 

Funeral  graft  is  also  made  out  of  the  funerals  of  devout 
Catholics.  The  relatives  and  friends  of  the  deceased  are  urged 
to  have  Masses  said  for  the  repose  of  the  soul  of  their  departed 
loved  one.  Every  Mass,  said  or  unsaid  (the  latter  often  be- 
ing the  case),  means  so  much  additional  money  for  the  priest. 

I  am  not  criticizing  the  having  of  Masses  said  for  the 
happy  repose  of  the  soul  of  the  dead,  for  this  is  in  accordance 
with  the  teaching  of  my  Church,  but  I  do  protest  against  mer- 
cenary priests  urging  such  Masses  solely  for  the  sake  of  graft. 

A  Catholic  gentleman  had  been  living  in  a  Cathedral  par- 
ish for  many  years.  He  moved  into  another  parish,  lived  there 
some  time,  and  there  died.  It  was  his  wish  that  he  should  be 
buried  from  the  Cathedral  parish  where  he  had  been  brought 
up  and  where  he  had  many  friends.  His  widow  was  anxious 
to  have  his  wish  carried  out.  She  went  to  her  parish  priest 
and  wanted  to  know  how  much  it  would  cost  to  permit  the  fu- 
neral to  be  held  in  the  Cathedral  parish.  The  pastor  told  her 
two  hundred  dollars.  She  said :  "  Father,  we  have  been  good 
parishioners ;  we  have  paid  liberally ;  we  gave  fifty  dollars  for 
each  baptism  in  our  family ;  I  do  not  think  you  should  hold 
us  up  in  this  way.''  His  reply  was :  "  I  have  stated  our  terms, 
and  it  is  up  to  you."  Then  she  wanted  to  know  how  much  it 
would  cost  to  permit  a  priest  from  another  parish,  a  personal 
friend  of  her  husband,  to  attend  the  funeral  of  the  deceased 
in  the  parish  in  which  he  had  died  and  to  pronounce  a  pane- 
gyric over  him.  He  replied :  "  If  you  will  give  me  one  hun- 
dred dollars  I  will  permit  the  priest  from  the  other  parish  to 
preach  over  him."  This  hundred  dollars  would  be  in  addition 
to  what  this  pastor  would  get  anyway  for  his  funeral  fee, 
which  would  be  a  very  large  cne  on  account  of  the  wealth  and 
prominence  of  the  deceased.  The  widow  answered :  "  Very 
well,  Father,  you  shall  have  it " ;  and  then  she  added :  "  Well, 
Father,  from  the  way  things  are  done  here  below  it  strikes 


264  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

me  that  we  will  have  to  buy  heaven,  and  if  that  is  so  then  God 
help  the  poor,  for  they  can  never  get  there." 

CEMETERY  GRAFT. 

Who  owns  the  Catholic  cemeteries?  Who  buys  the  land 
which  is  dedicated  to  the  deceased  children  of  the  Church? 
Who  sells  the  lots  and  single  graves?  Is  there  any  profit  in 
the  various  transactions?  Who  gets  it? 

If  a  parish  has  a  cemetery  of  its  own,  which  is  quite  fre- 
quently the  case  in  the  country,  the  pastor  handles  all  the  cem- 
etery moneys  or  revenue.  Parishes  in  great  cities  do  not  own 
cemeteries,  but  the  diocese  has  one  or  more,  the  title  to  them, 
in  the  absence  of  cemetery  trustees,  being  in  the  Bishop. 

In  the  vicinity  of  the  great  American  cities  there  are  some 
large  Catholic  burying  grounds.  I  wonder  what  they  cost 
and  what  the  expenditures  have  been  and  are  for  their  main- 
tenance. I  wonder  what  the  receipts  from  the  sales  of  lots 
and  single  graves  have  been  and  are.  I  wonder  if  they  are 
conducted  at  a  loss  or  a  profit  to  the  Bishops  and  Archbishops. 
If  there  is  a  profit  I  wonder  to  what  pious  use  it  is  devoted. 
Catholic  people,  don't  you  wonder,  too?  If  you  do,  why  don't 
you  ask?  I  have  heard  ecclesiastics  say  that  the  Catholic  cem- 
etery business  is  one  of  the  greatest  gold  mines  in  America. 

In  many  sections  of  the  land  there  is  enough  ecclesiastical 
grafting  in  connection  with  Catholic  cemeteries  to  make  the 
dead  rise  up  to  protest. 

PURGATORIAL  GRAFT. 

Many  priests  deliberately  preach  during  the  week  pre- 
ceding All  Souls'  Day  (November  2nd)  in  such  a  way  as  to 
work  unduly  upon  the  feelings  of  their  hearers.  They  picture 
the  deceased  relatives  of  their  hearers  as  suffering  most  horrible 
torments  in  purgatory,  and  crying  out  in  anguish :  "  Have  pity 
on  me!  Have  pity  on  me,  at  least  you,  my  friends,"  etc.,  etc. 
Large  offerings  are  thereupon  made  by  the  sympathetic  rela- 


Hll  Saints'  Church 

fjave  pits  on  me,  bare  pits  on  me,  at  least  sou,  ms  ttienoa, 

t 

©ommemoraf  ton  of  i fye 


.  Me  C/ctti*  op 


</ 


Address 


A   PURGATORIAL   MEMENTO. 


266  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

tives,  amounting  often  to  thousands  of  dollars,  and  in  good 
conscience  calling  for  the  saying  of  many  Masses,  but  the 
Masses  actually  said  are  few  and  far  between. 

I  know  good  Catholic  people  who  have  become  so  dis- 
gusted with  this  duplicity  that  instead  of  making  money  of- 
ferings for  the  remembrance  of  their  deceased  relatives  in 
Masses,  they  go  to  the  cemetery  and  say  prayers  over  the  graves 
of  their  loved  ones. 

On  All  Saints'  Day,  November  I,  1903,  a  priest  said  to 
one  of  the  most  enlightened  congregations  in  his  city :  "  I 
blush  for  the  faith  of  the  people  of  this  parish!  They  have 
lost  the  faith !  They  do  not  give  us  money  for  Masses  for  their 
deceased  relatives."  The  fact  was  that  his  people  had  become 
weary  of  being  deceived. 

A  few  years  ago  in  an  eastern  diocese  of  the  United  States 
a  pastor  denounced  from  his  pulpit  the  graft  practiced  upon 
the  Catholic  people  in  the  name  of  religion  by  mercenary  priests, 
and  he  called  particular  attention  to  the  awful  swindle  per- 
petrated upon  them  in  connection  with  the  All  Souls'  offerings. 
A  brother  priest,  who  was  a  prominent  pastor,  struck  him 
between  the  eyes  with  his  fist  at  a  public  gathering  of  the 
priests  of  the  diocese,  held  in  the  Cathedral  church,  for  having 
enlightened  the  Catholic  people.  Seeing  that  the  exposures  of 
this  brave  priest  would  interfere  with  their  grafting,  the  priests 
entered  into  a  plot  to  ruin  him,  and  he  was  soon  after  sus- 
pended and  deprived  of  his  parish.  He  is  now  raising  and 
selling  chickens  for  a  living. 

BUILDING  GRAFT. 

When  a  building  is  erected  for  any  purely  diocesan  pur- 
pose the  Bishop  lets  all  contracts  and  pays  all  bills,  and  his  ac- 
counts are  never  audited.  The  structure  may  be  for  an  acad- 
emy, or  a  seminary,  or  a  university,  or  an  episcopal  palace  in 
the  city  or  in  the  country.  The  Catholic  people  have  nothing 
to  say  about  its  necessity,  its  size,  its  architecture,  its  location, 


GRAFT.  267 

or  its  cost.  One  Archbishop  paid  $35,000  for  the  erection  of 
a  stable,  which  was  not  a  duplicate  of  the  one  in  which  our 
Savior  was  born.  The  Bishop,  if  it  is  a  diocese,  or  the  Arch- 
bishop, if  it  is  an  archdiocese,  settles  all  details  to  his  own 
satisfaction,  and  then  calls  for  money,  and  he  asks  for  what 
he  pleases  irrespective  of  the  actual  cost.  If  the  actual  cost 
of  a  structure  is  a  hundred  thousand  dollars,  there  is  nothing 
to  prevent  his  asking  for  two  hundred  thousand.  In  fact  he 
gets  as  much  more  than  the  actual  cost  as  he  can,  and  this  sur- 
plus is  simply  his  individual  graft. 

The  erection  of  a  purely  parochial  structure  is  in  the  con- 
trol of  the  parish  rector.  He  lets  all  contracts,  pays  all  bills, 
and  his  accounts  are  never  audited  in  the  strict  sense  of  the 
word.  He  asks  the  people  for  money  and  they  give  it  to  him. 
Whatever  the  surplus  may  be  the  pastor  keeps,  and  he  makes 
the  surplus  as  large  as  he  can. 

Catholic  people  always  pay  far  more  for  any  strictly  dio- 
cesan or  parochial  structure  than  its  actual  cost.  They  never 
get  through  paying  for  some  of  these  structures,  and  in  fact 
they  pay  many  times  the  actual  cost  of  them. 

Catholic  pastors  deliberately  keep  their  parishes  in  debt 
to  give  themselves  an  opportunity  to  incessantly  demand  mon- 
ey, and  the  Catholic  people  are  continually  giving  to  liquidate 
parish  debts  which  are  never  paid  off.  What  becomes  of  their 
contributions?  They  go  to  swell  clerical  graft. 

INCENDIARY  GRAFT. 

I  have  heard  the  charge  made  in  Catholic  circles  that 
churches  and  other  buildings  have  been  deliberately  set  on  fire 
by  Catholic  clerical  grafters  so  that  the  erection  of  a  new  struc- 
ture would  become  imperative  and  afford  them  an  opportunity 
for  graft,  the  burning  of  a  religious  edifice  tending  particularly 
to  create  sympathy  in  the  breasts  of  all  people  regardless  of 
creed. 


268  THE   PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

I  do  not  mean  to  insinuate  that  incendiary  graft  is  gen- 
eral. I  insert  this  item  to  decrease  or  put  an  end  to  the  graft 
of  this  kind. 

SANITARY  GRAFT. 

The  parochial  schools,  being  under  the  parish"  rectors, 
may  be  kept  in  a  sanitary  condition,  or  may  not.  Care  may 
be  taken  of  boilers,  etc.,  or  may  not.  A  mercenary  priest  is 
not  likely  to  spend  much  for  the  sanitation  of  his  school  build- 
ing and  the  safety  of  his  pupils. 

There  are  parochial  schools  in  prosperous  parishes  whose 
toilet  facilities  would  shame  a  hog  pen.  No  wonder  many 
parochial  school  children  go  to  untimely  graves. 

Municipalities  have  building  ordinances,  and  a  compli- 
ance with  them  costs  money.  Every  dollar  saved  is  a  dollar 
in  the  pocket  of  the  priest.  A  mercenary  priest  is  the  great- 
est tempter  a  building  inspector  can  have.  In  the  first  place, 
such  a  priest  has  no  compunctions  in  carrying  his  point  by 
graft,  and  in  the  second  place  politics  are  made  to  enter  into 
the  question,  non-acquiescence  in  the  pastor's  wishes  by  the 
inspector  being  represented  as  an  affront  to  the  Catholic 
Church,  and,  consequently,  an  insult  to  Catholic  voters. 

CORNER  STONE  GRAFT. 

When  the  corner  stone  of  a  Catholic  edifice  is  laid  the 
greatest  possible  publicity  is  sought  for  the  ceremony.  An- 
nouncements are  made  from  the  altars,  parades  are  held,  and 
Church  dignitaries  are  secured  to  officiate.  Great  crowds  as- 
semble and  large  representations  of  Catholic  societies  attend. 
Large  collections  are  taken  up  during  the  services,  and  the 
money  goes  into  the  hand  of  the  ecclesiastic  in  immediate 
charge  of  the  edifice.  There  is  no  check  upon  him.  He  uses 
for  his  own  purposes  what  he  pleases.  Corner  stone  laying 
furnishes  a  large  amount  of  graft. 

Many  a  Catholic  edifice  in  America  is  founded  upon  graft, 
and  often  those  who  lay  the  corner  stones  are  lewd  in  life. 


GRAFT.  26g 

DEDICATION   GRAFT. 

There  is  a  great  difference  between  the  consecration  and 
the  dedication  of  a  Catholic  church.  A  Catholic  church  is 
not  consecrated  till  it  is  entirely  free  from  debt.  Edifices  may 
be  dedicated  when  they  are  completed,  irrespective  of  any  in- 
debtedness. 

Dedications  are  made  the  most  of  by  grafting  pastors. 
Practically  the  same  features  attend  them  that  characterize 
corner  stone  layings.  Large  collections  are  received.  The 
pastor  takes  them  and  does  with  them  according  to  his  own 
pleasure. 

CONSECRATION  GRAFT. 

This  is  extremely  limited  all  over  the  country  as  it  is  far 
more  profitable  to  rectors  to  keep  churches  in  debt  than  to  free 
them  from  debt,  and  a  Catholic  church  cannot  be  consecrated 
till  all  indebtedness  upon  it  has  been  paid.  As  long  as  there 
is  a  debt  on  his  church  a  Catholic  rector  can  cry  for  money 
to  pay  it. 

In  the  United  States  of  America  there  are  but  few  Cath- 
olic churches  free  from  debt. 

Corner  stone  layings,  dedications  and  consecrations  are 
skilfully  used.  Catholic  societies  are  compelled  to  turn  out 
in  force.  Everything  is  done  to  secure  the  attendance  of  a 
multitude.  A  parade,  attended  with  bands  of  music,  is  held. 
Office  holders,  candidates  for  civic  offices  and  aspirants  for 
political  honors,  from  the  governor  of  a  State  down  to  a  con- 
stable, are  invited,  and  the  invitation  is  couched  in  language 
that  compels  attendance  if  the  favor  of  Catholic  voters  is  want- 
ed. They  attend  and  they  occupy  prominent  places.  They  nev- 
er leave  their  pocketbooks  at  home,  and  often  they  assist  in 
taking  up  the  collection.  They  are  publicly  presented  to  His 
Lordship,  or  His  Grace,  or  His  Eminence,  as  the  case  may 
be,  so  that  their  obeisance  may  be  seen  by  the  crowd ;  and  their 
worshipful  attitude  is  very  reverential. 


270  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

MASS  GRAFT. 

The  worshipers  at  Sunday  Mass  comprise  two  classes,  viz : 
pewholders  and  non-pewholders.  The  former  pay  in  advance 
the  prescribed  rates  for  their  sittings,  the  latter  pay  cash  at 
the  door,  the  charge  varying  from  ten  to  twenty-five  cents, 
depending  upon  the  tone  of  the  parish.  The  pastor  sits  at  the 
door,  or  has  representatives  there,  and  no  non-pewholder  over 
sixteen  years  of  age  is  allowed  to  enter  for  divine  worship  with- 
out first  paying  cash  down.  Should  he  succeed  in  forcing 
himself  in,  he  is  compelled  to  stand  in  the  rear  of  the  church 
during  the  service  or  he  is  seated  in  what  is  known  as  the 
"  paupers'  corner."  I  have  known  many  a  hard  working  poor 
man,  who  could  not  afford  to  pay  for  each  chargeable  member 
of  his  numerous  family,  to  absent  himself  from  church  alto- 
gether and  keep  his  family  away. 

I  was  summoned  once  to  attend  a  dying  man.  When  I 
reached  the  house  he  refused  the  last  rites  of  the  church.  I 
tried  to  reason  with  him  and  he  gave  as  his  explanation  for  re- 
fusing the  last  Sacraments  that  the  last  time  he  had  attempted 
to  enter  the  church  on  a  Sunday  morning  he  had  been  refused 
admission  because  he  did  not  have  ten  cents;  and  that  he  was 
then  in  poor  health,  out  of  work  and  had  a  wife  and  three 
small  children.  His  wife  told  me  that  he  had  not  been  to  the 
church  in  five  years.  There  are  very  many  men  in  America 
like  this  poor  man. 

I  have  known  of  instances  where  the  pastor,  who  had 
been  watching  at  the  door,  went  to  the  pulpit  and,  while  mak- 
ing announcements,  cast  aspersions  upon  the  people  in  the 
paupers'  corner  for  daring  to  enter  the  church  without  paying 
the  entrance  fee. 

There  is  always  a  collection  taken  up  during  Mass,  and  to 
induce  the  people  to  contribute  at  least  ten  cents  each  they  are 
told,  "  All  who  will  contribute  ten  cents  or  upwards  to  the 
collection  during  Mass  will  have  a  share  in  the  Mass  which 
will  be  said  to-morrow/'  or  some  other  day. 


GRAFT.  271 

THE  CHURCH  FAIR  GRAFT. 

In  a  later  chapter  I  will  show  the  pernicious  influence 
of  church  fairs  upon  the  Catholic  children.  In  this  place  I 
aim  to  show  the  various  kinds  of  graft  made  at  church  fairs. 

Who  gets  the  money,  often  running  into  thousands  of 
dollars,  which  is  made  at  church  fairs?  The  rectors  of  the 
parishes  where  they  are  held  get  the  proceeds.  Is  there  any 
account  rendered  to  the  parish  by  the  rector  of  the  amount  re- 
ceived and  of  the  use  to  which  it  is  put?  Never  any  honest 
account.  The  rector  simply  puts  it  into  his  pocket  and  spends 
it  as  he  wills. 

Clerical  "  Sandbagging/' 

The  general  public  can  hardly  have  any  idea  of  the  "  sand- 
bagging "  which  is  done  at  many  Catholic  church  fairs.  If 
possible  they  are  held  during'the  time  of  some  pending  election 
when  politics  run  high  and  'politicians  are  particularly  anx- 
ious to  curry  favor  with  the  largest  number  of  voters.  A 
Democratic  night  will  be  had  on  which  the  Democrats  are  ex- 
pected to  turn  out  in  force  and  spend  their  money  lavishly. 
Then  a  Republican  night  will  be  had,  on  which  the  Republi- 
cans are  expected  to  show  themselves  en  masse  and  empty 
their  pocketbooks. 

There  are  nights  for  the  Mayor  and  prominent  aldermen, 
and  also  nights  for  the  candidates  for  political  office.  These 
men  rally  their  friends,  and  the  occasions  add  many  dollars 
to  the  bank  account  of  the  rector. 

A  certain  Catholic  pastor,  who  is  over  a  very  large  city 
parish,  sent  to  a  candidate  for  the  office  of  sheriff  of 
his  county  about  fifty  tickets  to  his  church  fair,  each 
calling  for  one  dollar.  The  candidate  refused  to  be  "  held 
up  "  in  such  a  manner.  On  the  following  Sunday  that  pas- 
tor publicly  denounced  from  his  pulpit  that  candidate,  and 
commanded  the  people  not  to  cast  their  votes  for  him,  on  the 
ground  that  he  was  no  good  for  he  had  refused  to  buy  fifty 


272  THE   PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

tickets  to  his  church  fair.  The  candidate  lost  the  election. 
There  were  many  fairs  going  on  at  this  time  to  which  he  was 
asked  to  give. 

At  a  fair  held  in  the  basement  of  the  church  of  one  of  the 
largest  Catholic  parishes  in  America,  this  incident  took  place. 
There  was  present  a  politician  who,  for  personal  reasons,  de- 
sired greatly  to  win  the  favor  of  the  voters  of  that  parish. 
He  went  to  one  of  the  parish  priests  and  paid  him  liberally  to 
call  the  crowd  at  the  fair  to  order  and  to  fulsomely  introduce 
him  for  a  few  minutes'  speech.  So  the  fair  was  changed  into 
a  political  meeting,  for  the  good  of  the  parish,  and  Mr.  Poli- 
tician expatiated  eloquently  on  the  supremacy  of  the  Catholic 
Church  in  America  and  the  rights  of  the  Catholic  people. 
During  his  harangue  another  priest  of  that  parish,  who  was 
hearing  confessions  upstairs  while  politics  were  being  aired 
downstairs,  learned  the  true  secret  of  the  political  activity 
in  the  fair,  and  he  went  below,  mounted  the  platform  and 
complained  bitterly  of  his  brother  priest's  lack  of  attention  to 
his  duties  in  the  confessional.  The  meeting  then  broke  up. 
The  fact  was  that  its  clerical  interrupter  was  at  that  time  in  a 
half  drunken  state,  and  was  the  champion  and  in  the  pay  of 
the  rival  candidate. 

Catholic  church  fairs  are  attempts  to  do  what  Jesus  Christ 
said  was  impossible.  He  said :  "  Ye  cannot  serve  God  and 
Mammon."  God,  at  them,  is  served  upstairs  by  reciting  the 
holy  rosary,  by  going  through  the  Stations  of  the  Cross,  by 
receiving  the  Sacrament  of  Penance  in  the  confessional,  by  the 
Benediction  of  the  Most  Holy  Sacrament  and  the  Holy  Sacri- 
fice of  the  Mass.  If  the  fair  runs  into  Lent,  then  a  sermon  is 
preached  in  which  the  people  are  urged  against  vices.  Mam- 
mon is  served  downstairs  at  wheels  of  fortune,  slot  ma- 
chines, vaudevilles,  "  blind  pigs/'  etc.,  etc.  Upstairs  the  pen- 
itent is  roundly  censured  for  going  to  fortune  tellers  (else- 
where than  at  church  fairs),  and  is  commanded  to  put  into  the 
"  poor  box  "  an  offering  at  least  equal  in  amount  to  the  for- 


GRAFT.  273 

tune  teller's  fee.  Downstairs  fortune  tellers  (professionals 
and  amateurs)  do  a  thriving  business  "  for  the  greater  honor 
and  glory  of  God." 

The  Pope's  Life,  Whiskey  and  Two  Kinds  of  Pigs. 

In  the  fall  of  1903  a  book  entitled  "  The  Life  of  Leo 
XIII  "  was  raffled  at  a  church  fair,  the  chances  being  five  cents 
each.  At  other  church  fairs  bottles  of  whiskey  were  raffled 
at  a  higher  rate  per  bottle — three  chances  for  twenty-five 
cents.  At  another  fair  held  in  the  basement  chapel  of  a 
church,  live  geese,  chickens,  goats,  sheep  and  dead  pigs  were 
exhibited  and  raffled.  Some  of  the  animals  were  put  in  the 
chapel  sanctuary.  There  was  a  "  blind  pig,"  not  far  from  the 
dead  ones,  which  was  in  great  favor  with  young  and  old,  and 
some  of  the  clergymen  appeared  to  be  very  much  attached  to  it. 

The  stocks  of  liquors  for  these  church  fairs  are  donated 
by  Histillers,  brewers  and  saloon  keepers.  It  is  needless  to  add 
that  the  donations  are  forced. 

Contests. 

A  common  method  of  fleecing  the  people  is  by  contest. 
It  may  be  a  beauty  or  popularity  contest  between  two  belles 
of  the  parish,  or  a  popularity  contest  between  two  prominent 
priests  or  business  men  or  politicians  or  labor  bosses  or  fire- 
men or  policemen  or  parochial  school  children.  The  friends 
of  the  contestants  are  expected  to  express  their  opinion  by 
voting,  paying  so  much  for  each  ballot  and  being  permitted  to 
buy  as  many  ballots  as  they  care  to  cast. 

I  know  a  priest  who  took  in  over  ten  thousand  dollars  from 
a  contest  over  a  gold-headed  cane  between  two  labor  bosses, 
who  had  hundreds  of  men  under  them. 

I  know  a  priest  who  got  up  a  contest  over  a  gold  chalice 
between  his  parish  and  some  mythical  parish  in  a  neighboring 
city.  His  own  people  worked  like  beavers,  but  the  mythical 
parish  won  the  chalice. 


274  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

At  a  church  fair  in  the  east  a  contest  was  gotten  up 
between  two  parishes  over  the  popularity  of  their  respective 
pastors.  The  rivalry  ran  high.  It  ended  at  midnight  on  a 
Saturday  or  rather  in  the  early  hours  of  Sunday  morning,  in 
a  free  fight,  at  which  blood  was  spilled,  and  the  edifice  had  to 
be  rededicated. 

Disreputable  people  are  often  forced  to  champion  the 
contestants  at  church  fair  contests  and  to  give  generously. 
These  contests  are  simply,  in  the  language  of  a  lately  prominent 
German  Catholic  pastor,  a  "  sandbagging  of  the  people." 

The  good  Catholic  people  are  scandalized  by  these  annual 
fairs,  filled,  as  they  are,  with  all  sorts  of  questionable  attrac- 
tions. Devout  Catholic  people  blush  over  these  scandalous 
performances  and  try  to  ease  their  consciences  by  the  pious 
retiection :  "  O,  well,  it  is  for  the  glory  of  God  and  His 
Church !  "  Poor,  deluded  people !  %  It  is  not  for  the  Glory  of 
God  and  his  Church,  but,  as  a  rule,  the  proceeds  go  into  the 
insatiate  maw  of  a  grafting  priest. 

THE  PAULIST  FATHERS'  FAIR. 

On  the  opening  night  there  was  a  prize  fight  between  two 
children  aged  eight  and  ten  years.  There  were  other  prize 
fights  during  the  fair,  and  on  Friday  night,  February  the  I9th, 
(the  first  Friday  in  Lent  and  the  Feast  of  the  Passion  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ)  a  prize-fighter  got  his  nose  smashed  in 
the  prize-ring  in  the  sanctuary,  while  in  the  church  above  him 
devout  worshipers  were  going  through  the  Stations  of  the 
Cross,  led  by  one  of  their  fathers  in  God.  There  were  at  this 
fair  (in  violation  of  the  civil  law)  two  of  the  most  up-to-date 
slot  machines  and  a  wheel  of  forune.  There  were  also  special 
booths  for  fortune  telling.  Cigars  and  soft  drinks  were  sold. 
All  kinds  of  raffles  were  conducted,  one  of  them  being  for  a 
horse  which  had  been  presented  by  a  convert.  It  was  won 
by  one  of  the  parish  priests.  One  night  a  newsboys'  band  at- 
tended and  made  so  much  music  that  the  devotions  and  con- 


GRAFT.  275 

fessions  in  the  upper  church  were  abandoned.  This  fair  ran 
into  the  third  week  in  Lent,  the.  season  of  prayer,  penance  and 
fasting.  A  policeman  was  detailed  to  receive  the  tickets  or 
entrance  fee  at  the  door.  The  slot  machines  were  a  few  feet 
away  from  him. 

The  life  work  of  the  Paulists  is  the  conversion  of  the 
non-Catholics. 

Jesus  Christ  scourged  the  money  changers,  or  grafters, 
from  the  temple.  What  would  have  happened  to  the  holy 
Paulist  fathers  if  He  had  visited  their  church  fair? 

I  respectfully  suggest  to  the  Paulist  fathers  that  running 
gambling  devices  and  prize-fights  in  the  church  is  not  the  way 
to  win  non-Catholics  to  embrace  our  Holy  religion. 

This  parish  hopes  to  have  a  parish  school  in  compliance 
with  the  statutes  of  the  Third  Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore. 

This  is  an  old  parish,  and  during  many  years  of  its  ex- 
istence, it  had  an  immense  income.  The  site  of  the  first  edi- 
fice, which  was  burned,  is  worth  hundreds  of  thousands  of 
dollars.  Why  should  there  be  any  debt  on  this  parish?  It 
faces  extinction  because  of  its  debts.  Where  has  the  great 
cash  income  gone  ?  What  has  been  done  with  its  most  valuable 
land? 

THE  POOR  Box  GRAFT. 

Even  the  necessities  of  the  poor  yield  graft  to  Catholic 
pastors.  The  world  at  large  labors  under  the  delusion  that 
priests  and  prelates  are  very  solicitous  about  the  poor.  In 
every  Catholic  church  there  are  prominently  displayed  poor 
boxes  in  which  offerings  are  deposited  by  the  Catholic  people 
to  relieve  the  necessities  of  the  indigent  and  the  unfortunate. 
The  Catholic  people  give  liberally.  Do  the  poor  get  the  bene- 
fit of  the  contributions  ?  No,  they  do  not.  The  pastor  is  the 
only  one  who  has  the  key  to  the  poor  box.  The  poor  box 
funds  go  to  swell  the  pastor's  graft. 

I  have  heard  Catholic  priests  say  that  the  giving  of  alms 
has  a  most  pernicious  influence  upon  the  poor;  that  it  de- 


THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

moralizes  them ;  that  it  gets  them  into  the  habit  of  getting  in- 
stead of  giving,  and  that  it  induces  the  poor  to  settle  in  the 
parishes  where  they  get  help;  consequently,  while  they  urge 
their  people  to  fill  the  poor  boxes,  still  they  feel  it  to  be  their 
bounden  duty  to  protect  the  poor  against  the  pernicious  effects 
of  philanthropy,  and  this  they  do  by  deliberately  misappro- 
priating the  money  to  their  own  selfish  purposes. 

ST.  ANTHONY  GRAFT. 

Graft  is  made  out  of  the  devotion  to  St.  Anthony.  He 
was  born  at  Lisbon  in  1195  and  died  near  Padua  in  1231.  He 
was  a  Franciscan  monk,  theologian  and  preacher  in  France 
and  Italy.  About  four  hundred  years  after  his  death  he  ap- 
peared to  a  lady  in  a  dream  and  told  her  how  the  faithful  could 
have  certain  things  granted  through  his  intercession.  He  is 
the  saint  whose  favor  is  especially  sought  in  matrimony,  and 
for  the  recovery  of  lost  and  stolen  articles. 

The  devotion  of  St.  Anthony  consists  of  confession  and 
communion  in  the  church  on  nine  consecutive  Tuesdays.  A 
statue  of  the  saint  is  erected  in  the  church  and  near  it  is  placed 
a  box  to  receive  cash  offerings  of  those  who  seek  his  inter- 
cession, the  amount  of  the  offering  being  an  evidence  of  the 
petitioner's  faith — little  faith  indicated  by  a  small  offering  and 
great  faith  by  a  big  offering.  The  people  are  taught  that  it  is 
necessary  to  have  great  faith  to  secure  the  help  of  St.  Anthony. 

The  devotion  to  St.  Anthony  is  becoming  universal  in 
America.  There  was  a  time  when  the  Franciscan  churches 
had  a  monopoly  of  the  devotion.  The  priests  of  the  other 
parishes  saw  that  they  were  losing  money  by  the  monopoly 
of  the  Franciscans,  so  they  resolved  to  establish  the  devotion 
in  their  own  churches;  and  now  in  the  various  Catholic 
churches  there  is  a  statue  of  St.  Anthony  with  a  box  to  receive 
the  cash  offerings,  and  his  devotion  is  eloquently  urged  upon 
the  Catholic  people.  Those  who  seek  his  intercession  are  num- 
bered by  hundreds  of  thousands. 


GRAFT.  27? 

For  the  information  of  my  readers  I  quote  the  following 
excerpts  from  a  Catholic  work  entitled  "  St.  Anthony's  Bread 
for  the  Poor,  and  Prayers  for  Novenas  and  the  Thirteen  Tues- 
days in  Honor  of  the  Saint,"  compiled  by  Monsignor  Patrick 
F.  O'Hare,  Rector  of  St.  Anthony's  Church,  Brooklyn,  New 
York: 

An  instance  of  St.  Anthony's  gift  of  miracles  and  of  his 
readiness  to  exercise  it  to  the  profit  of  the  poor,  is  recorded 
in  the  process  of  his  canonization.  Close  to  the  church  that  was 
erected  in  Padua  to  his  honor,  shortly  after  his  death,  a  baby 
boy  named  Tomasino,  twenty  months  old,  was  drowned  in  a 
pond.  The  distracted  mother,  standing  beside  the  corpse  in 
the  presence  of  several  friars  and  a  crowd  of  workmen,  prom- 
ised the  Saint  that,  if  he  would  restore  her  son  to  life,  she 
would  distribute  among  the  poor  a  measure  of  corn  equal  to  the 
weight  of  the  child.  Instantly  the  dead  babe  awoke  to  new 
life,  and  stretched  out  his  arms  to  his  mother.  (Page  13.) 

At  Bourges  a  Jew  called  Guillard,  was  one  of  the  bitterest 
enemies  of  Catholicity.  The  powerful  sermons  of  St.  Anthony 
had  impressed,  without  entirely  convincing,  him.  One  day  he 
held  a  long  discussion  with  Anthony  upon  the  real  pres- 
ence of  our  Lord  in  the  Eucharist,  a  dogma  which,  to  his 
mind,  was  altogether  inadmissible.  "  Brother  Anthony,  I  have 
a  mule,"  said  the  Jew ;  "  I  will  lock  it  up,  and  keep  it  without 
food  for  three  days.  At  the  end  of  that  time  I  will  bring  it 
to  the  largest  public  square  in  the  town,  and  there  in  pres- 
ence of  the  people,  I  will  offer  it  a  feed  of  oats.  You,  on  the 
other  hand,  will  come,  carrying  the  Host,  which,  according  to 
you,  is  the  true  body  of  the  man-God.  If  the  mule  refuses 
the  proffered  food  in  order  to  prostrate  itself  before  the  mon- 
strance, I  will  become  a  Catholic."  It  was  a  solemn  challenge 
and  the  Franciscan  accepted  it.  During  the  interval  the  apos- 
tle gave  himself  up  to  fasting  and  prayer.  On  the  day  ap- 
pointed, Guillard  made  his  appearance  in  the  square,  sur- 
rounded by  a  multitude  of  his  adherents.  From  the  opposite 
side  Anthony  approached,  bearing  the  monstrance  which  con- 
tained the  Lamb  of  God.  In  the  middle  of  the  square  he 
stopped,  and  turning  towards  the  mule,  he  addressed  it  in  these 
words :  "  In  the  name  of  thy  Creator,  whom  I,  though  un- 
worthy, hold  in  my  hands,  I  enjoin  and  command  thee,  O  be- 


278  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

ing  deprived  of  reason,  to  come  hither  instantly  and  prostrate 
thyself  before  thy  God,  so  that,  by  this  sign,  unbelievers  may 
know  that  all  creation  is  subject  to  the  Lamb  who  is  immolated 
on  our  altars."  At  this  same  time  one  of  the  opposite  party 
offered  the  oats  to  the  famished  animal.  The  mule,  without 
taking  the  slightest  notice  of  the  food  placed  before  it,  obedi- 
ent to  the  voice  of  the  Saint,  went  straight  to  where  he  stood, 
bent  its  knees  before  the  Sacred  Host,  and  remained  in  an  atti- 
tude of  adoration.  At  the  sight  of  this  evident  marvel,  the 
air  was  rent  with  the  applause  of  the  Catholics.  The  owner 
of  the  mule  honestly  acknowledged  his  defeat,  and,  faithful 
to  his  promise,  publicly  abjured  his  errors.  Many  of  the  sec- 
taries present,  who  had  begun  to  doubt  and  sincerely  sought 
for  truth,  were  also  received  into  the  Catholic  Church.  (Pages 
42  and  43.) 

I  have  heard  of  men  who  dressed  themselves  in  the  skins 
of  bears  and  other  animals  and  performed  in  circuses,  and  the 
spectators  believed  that  they  were  gazing  on  remarkable  mem- 
bers of  the  animal  kingdom.  I  wonder  if  these  performers  did 
not  get  the  idea  from  reading  about  the  pious  mule  of  the 
guileless  Jew  converted  by  St.  Anthony! 

What  a  fortune  P.  T.  Barnum  would  have  made  out  of 
that  famished  mule  which  preferred  the  adoration  of  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  to  a  feed  of  oats  ! ! ! 

I  take  the  following  from  the  last  mentioned  work  of 
Monsignor  O'Hare": 

(St.  Anthony's)  funeral  took  place  on  June  I7th,  (1231) 
and  was  of  the  most  imposing  description.  The  mournful 
character  of  the  burial  was  changed  into  a  continuous  tri- 
umphal ovation,  on  account  of  the  numbers  and  astounding 
nature  of  the  miracles  operated  that  day.  The  blind,  the 
deaf,  the  paralytic  implored  the  aid  of  the  "  Wonder  Worker," 
and  all  who  touched  his  humble  coffin  were  at  once  delivered 
from  their  infirmities.  The  gratitude  of  the  people  thereupon 
consecrated  Tuesday  to  the  honor  of  the  Saint.  Crowds  gath- 
ered at  his  tomb  on  this  day  by  preference,  and  it  was  the  gen- 
eral belief  at  Padua  that  one  would  obtain  on  this  day  what- 
ever was  asked  of  God  through  this  Saint.  This  practice, 
which  had  spread  far  and  wide,  received  a  new  and  surpris- 


GRAFT.  279 

!ng  impetus  centuries  afterwards.  It  occurred  in  this  way. 
A  noble  lady  in  Bologna,  in  the  year  1617,  besought  a  favor 
of  St.  Anthony  with  much  fervor  and  earnestness.  For  twen- 
ty-two years  she  had  vainly  desired  that  her  marriage  might 
be  blessed  with  offspring.  One  night  she  saw  the  Saint  in 
a  dream.  "  Visit,"  he  said  to  her,  "  for  nine  Tuesdays  my 
statue  in  the  Church  of  St.  Francis,  and  your  prayers  will  be 
heard."  The  pious  woman  hastened  to  obey  the  directions  of 
the  Saint,  and  as  a  result  of  her  fidelity  and  perseverance  ob- 
tained the  favor  she  so  ardently  desired.  This  happy  response 
to  prayer  was  soon  noised  abroad,  and  the  devotion  of  the  nine 
Tuesdays  began  to  be  practiced  by  countless  souls.  (Pages 
31  and  32.) 

St.  Anthony  does  not  belong  to  the  city  of  Padua  alone; 
he  is  the  Saint  of  the  whole  world. — Leo  XIII.  (Title  page.) 

The  Seraphic  Doctor,  St.  Bonaventure,  declares  that  all 
miraculous  graces  may  be  obtained  through  the  intercession 
of  St.  Anthony.  This  intercession  is  sought  chiefly  for  the 
following  objects: 

1.  For  the  restoration  to  their  owners  of  lost  and  stolen 
things. 

2.  For  the  recovery  of  health  in  all  kinds  of  sickness. 

3.  For  a  knowledge  of  the  will  of  God,  regarding  ourselves 
and  others  relative  to  the  choice  of  an  occupation  or  vocation. 

4.  For  the  happy  issue  of  our  undertakings,  whether  they 
concern  the  honor  of  God,  the  welfare  of  our  souls,  or  even 
mere  temporal  blessings.     (Page  34.) 

The  rich  and  the  poor  meet  at  St.  Anthony's  box.  St. 
Anthony  procures  for  the  poor  who  invoke  him  the  aid  of  the 
wealthy  and  providential  blessings,  and  he  obtains  for  the  rich 
abundant  favors,  spiritual  and  temporal,  but  only  on  condition 
that  they  succor  the  indigent  and  distressed.  .  .  The  rich  man 
must  share  with  the  beggar  in  this  world  if  he  would  have  fel- 
lowship and  portion  with  him  in  the  next  (for)  the  poor  are 
they  of  whom  it  is  said  that  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
(Page  23.) 

Within  the  past  twelve  years  St.  Anthony  graft  is  made 
more  especially  under  the  devotion  of  St.  Anthony's  Bread 
for  the  Poor.  This  devotion  seems  to  have  begun  about 


280  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

March,  1890,  in  the  shop  of  Louise  Bouffier,  a  humble  linen- 
draper  of  Toulon,  France.    I  quote  again : 

The  fame  of  St.  Anthony's  bounty  at  the  little  shrine  back 
of  the  Bouffier  linen-shop  of  Toulon  spread  quickly,  not  only 
throughout  that  city,  but  also  all  over  France;  it  passed  to 
Spain,  to  Italy,  to  Belgium,  to  Portugal,  and  to  all  other  parts 
of  Europe.  Thence  the  glad  tidings  were  carried  to  America, 
to  Asia,  to  Africa,  and  to  Oceanica.  The  good  news  has  cir- 
cled the  globe.  Everywhere  St.  Anthony  is  confidently  in- 
voked. The  Saint  of  the  whole  world,  as  Pope  Leo  calls  him, 
is  teaching  the  world  that  charity  is  the  wide  avenue  to  the 
favor  of  heaven.  (Pages  15  and  16.) 

It  is  exceedingly  easy  to  inaugurate  the  work  of  St. 
Anthony's  Bread,  whether  in  the  aim  of  consecrating  the  pro- 
ceeds to  the  material  necessities  of  the  poor  of  a  parish,  of  an 
orphan  asylum,  a  community,  or  to  the  maintenance  of  a 
Catholic  school.  All  that  is  requisite  is  to  erect  a  statue,  or 
even  a  simple  picture  of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua  in  some  con- 
spicuous place  in  a  church  or  chapel,  that  it  may  be  of  ready 
access  to  the  public.  A  poor-box  for' offerings  is  placed  at  the 
foot  of  the  statue  or  picture  of  the  Saint,  and  the  thing  is  ac- 
complished. (Page  19.) 

The  widow's  mite  and  the  rich  man's  offerings  are  alike 
dropped  into  the  wooden  box  at  the  foot  of  St.  Anthony's 
Statue.  Money  literally  flows  through  this  channel,  and  be- 
comes changed  into  bread  for  the  poor.(!!!)  (Page  5.) 

The  rector  of  a  parish  holds  the  key  to  St.  Anthony's  poor 
box,  and  the  offerings  put  into  it  go  to  swell  his  receipts  from 
•clerical  graft. 

RELIC  GRAFT. 

A  regular  trade  is  carried  on  in  sacred  relics.  Graft  is 
made  in  this  way  by  the  ecclesiastics  who  supply  the  demand. 
Clerical  friends,  who  were  educated  in  Rome,  assure  me  that 
Church  authorities  at  Rome  palm  off  embalmed  corpses  upon 
foreign  priests  and  prelates,  representing  them  to  be  the  bodies 
of  Saints.  The  purchasers,  as  a  rule,  know  they  are  being  de- 
ceived but  since  they  get  a  written  authentication  which  en- 


GRAFT.  28l 

ables  them  to  dupe  their  parishioners  and  subjects  at  home, 
they  are  willing  to  pay  the  price.  In  like  manner,  pieces  of 
bone  and  other  so-called  sacred  things  are  trafficked  in. 

A  grafting  pastor  turns  the  possession  of  a  relic  into  a 
source  of  great  gain  for  himself.  He  preys  upon  the  credulity 
of  the  honest  Catholic  people  by  craftily  recommending  de- 
votion to  the  relic  which  he  has  in  the  church,  and  he  will 
arouse  their  enthusiasm  by  wonderful  tales  of  marvelous  bene- 
fits which  devout  Catholics  in  various  places,  at  home  and 
abroad,  have  experienced  from  devotions  to  such  relics. 

I  do  not  deny  that  there  are  in  existence  genuine  relics, 
and  I  do  not  impugn  the  teaching  of  the  Church  in  reference 
to  the  edification  which  may  be  derived  by  the  Catholic  people 
from  a  proper  attitude  towards  them ;  but  I  do  protest  against 
the  manifest  fraud  and  graft  which  are  more  and  more  com- 
ing into  evidence  in  our  day  in  connection  with  the  acquirement 
of  and  devotion  to  relics. 

The  American  daily  papers  are  constantly  putting  before 
the  people  articles  similar  in  purport  to  the  following: 

Chicago  Tribune,  August  15,  1904. 

Piece  of  Cross  in  Gotham  Church.     Unimportant  Parish  Pos- 
sesses One  of  the  Rarest  Collections  of  Sacred  Relics. 

New  York  Bureau  Chicago  Tribune,  New  York,  Aug.  14. 

In  the  smallest  Roman  Catholic  church  in  the  city  a 
reliquary,  said  to  be  one  of  the  most  precious  and  representative 
of  any  in  America,  was  shown  at  mass  to-day.  It  is  the  Bo- 
hemian church  of  St.  John,  in  East  Seventy-first  street.  Au- 
thenticated by  the  Vatican,  and  accompanied  by  a  certificate 
signed  in  1842  by  Cardinal  Patruzi,  then  in  charge  of  the  vat- 
ican  collection  of  sacred  relics,  the  church  has  a  cabinet  col- 
lection that  cannot  fail  to  impress  the  devout. 

In  the  center,  upon  a  silver  cross,  is  a  little  piece  of  wood, 
said  to  be  a  portion  of  the  cross  on  which  Christ  was  crucified. 
Near  this  is  a  part  of  a  red  robe  worn  by  the  Savior  after  leav- 
ing the  sepulcher.  There  is  also  a  scrap  of  the  title  of  the  in- 
scription on  the  cross,  a  chip  from  the  table  of  the  last  sup- 


282  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

per,  a  shred  of  rope  used  to  bind  Jesus,  a  piece  of  the  pillar 
at  which  he  was  scourged,  a  splinter  of  the  crib  that  held  the 
Christ  child,  a  bit  of  soil  from  the  grave  of  the  Blessed  Virgin, 
and  a  piece  of  the  cloak  of  St.  Joseph. 

Alongside  the  columns  supporting  the  altar  are  affixed 
small  pieces  of  bones  of  the  twelve  apostles. 

I  assert  that  the  foregoing  article  is  a  catering  to  a  cre- 
dulity which  is  a  disgrace  to  the  enlightened  Catholicity  of  this 
twentieth  century. 

My  dear  Catholic  people,  do  you  know  how  you  are  fooled 
by  these  relic  grafters?  Let  me  tell  you  a  few  true  things 
which  I  imagine  will  be  new  to  you  in  reference  to  relics.  In 
the  first  place  it  is  highly  probable  that  there  are  but  few 
genuine  relics  in  existence,  and  it  is  improbable  that  many, 
if  any,  relics  are  genuine  which  claim  to  date  from  before 
the  Middle  Ages  or  the  Renaissance.  The  people,  centuries 
ago,  cared  very  little  for  antiquities.  Nations  then  were  com- 
paratively small  and  they  were  constantly  warring.  During 
the  first  few  centuries  after  the  crucifixion  of  Jesus  Christ 
his  followers  were  poor,  despised  and  inhumanly  persecuted. 
They  were  hunted  like  wild  beasts,  and  their  burial  places 
were  desecrated.  All  of  these  conditions  made  against  the 
securing,  preserving  and  passing  down  from  generation  to 
generation  of  sacred  articles,  such  as  "  a  part  of  the  red  robe 
worn  by  the  Savior  after  leaving  the  sepulcher,"  "  a  scrap  of 
the  title  of  the  inscription  on  the  cross,"  "  a  chip  from  the  ta- 
ble of  the  last  supper,"  "  a  splinter  of  the  crib  that  held  the 
Christ  child,"  etc.  Dr.  Pastor,  the  great  Catholic  historian, 
openly  confesses  that  the  men  of  the  Middle  Ages  and  of  the 
Renaissance  had  no  sense  of  reverence  for  the  past ;  he  says : 

In  truth,  the  men  of  the  Renaissance  had  as  little  sense 
of  reverence  for  the  past  as  those  of  the  Middle  Ages.  .  .  The 
passion  for  the  new  style  stifled  all  interest  in  the  monuments 
of  former  days.  It  would  be  unjust  in  blaming  the  Renais- 
sance period  for  its  reckless  destruction  of  precious  memorials, 
not  to  point  out  that  the  men  of  the  Middle  Ages  were  not 


GRAFT.  283 

One  whit  less  indifferent;  in  the  1 3th  century  the  famous 
tomb  of  St.  Bardo  at  Mayence  was  demolished,  and  not  a 
trace  of  it  is  left.  .  .  The  Carolingian  tombs  at  St.  Alban 
near  Mayence  completely  disappeared  during  the  early  me- 
diaeval times.  In  the  I3th  century,  the  old  cathedrals  at  Co- 
logne, Spires,  Worms,  etc.,  were  treated  in  a  similar  manner. 
The  feeling  that  we  designate  as  piety,  reverence,  seemed  un- 
known in  the  Middle  Ages.  (Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the 
Popes,  Vol.  VI.,  p.  4770 

History  teaches  that  finally  a  traffic  in  antiquities  (and 
this  included  relics)  sprang  up,  and  that  deliberate  deception 
was  practiced.  Dr.  Pastor  says: 

The  demand  for  antiquities  became  so  keen  that  the  ex- 
treme difficulty  of  procuring  them  is  often  mentioned.  George 
of  Negroponte,  writing  from  Rome  in  1507,  says,  "The  mo- 
ment anything  is  found,  innumerable  bidders  for  it  start  up.7' 
From  the  same  letter  we  gather  that  a  flourishing  trade  in 
such  things  was  carried  on  by  speculators,  the  prices  con- 
stantly rising  and  falling. 

The  rage  for  discoveries  of  course  produced  many  forger- 
ies inspired  by  vanity  or  desire  for  gain.  (Dr.  Pastor's  His- 
tory of  the  Popes,  Vol.  VI.,  p.  491.) 

The  crusaders  who  went  to  the  Hcly  Land  did  not  want 
to  return  home  without  some  tangible  proof  of  their  having 
been  to  Palestine,  so  they  bought  relics  to  take  back  with  them. 
Kings  and  princes  sought  to  show  their  zeal  for  religion  by 
securing  relics  and  giving  them  to  churches.  Bad  Popes  and 
Prelates  greatly  desired  to  secure  relics  because  they  saw  the 
endless  graft  they  could  make  out  of  them. 

The  result  of  this  traffic  was  the  perpetuation "  of  con- 
stant frauds.  Relic  hunters  abounded,  and  they  did  not  scru- 
ple to  manufacture  articles.  In  fact,  there  was  often  a  dupli- 
cation of  relics.  Two  abbeys  claimed  at  the  same  time  to  be 
in  possession  of  the  crown  of  thorns  worn  by  our  Savior. 
There  have  been  other  equally  as  disgraceful  duplications  of 
relics. 


284  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

The  Council  of  Trent  treated  the  subject  of  relics  in  its 
twenty-fifth  session,  held  in  December,  1563,  and  it  expressed 
its  earnest  desire  for  the  removal  of  abuses,  for  the  abolition 
of  unworthy  gain  in  the  veneration  of  relics,  and  of  revelry  on 
the  occasion  of  their  visitation. 

Churches  which  have  celebrated  relics  are  thronged  with 
worshipers,  and  thousands  upon  thousands  of  dollars  are  giv- 
en in  offerings  by  the  deluded  worshipers. 

I  often  wonder  how  the  twelve  apostles  feel  over  their 
bones  being  broken  into  pieces  and  the  pieces  scattered  over 
the  earth  for  grafting  priests  to  use  to  filch  money  out  of  the 
honest  Catholic  people.  It  is  a  wonder  that  the  jaw-bones  do 
not  begin  to  talk  and  give  the  graft  away. 

A  distinguished  clerical  friend,  who  has  lately  traveled 
abroad,  recently  told  me  this :  "  From  the  persistent  way  in 
which  I  saw  Catholic  ecclesiastics  sell  pieces  of  the  '  True 
Cross' — the  cross  on  which  Christ  was  crucified — I  am  con- 
fident that  they  have  already  disposed  of  enough  of  it  to  fence 
in  the  State  of  Kentucky." 

CHARM  GRAFT. 

Little  images  of  different  saints  are  sold  and  blessed  and 
the  owners  carry  them  in  their  pockets  in  order  to  insure  im- 
mediate attention  to  their  prayers.  Among  these  are  the  fol- 
lowing : 

St.  Anthony — ito  help  the  owner  recover  lost  articles. 

St.  Joseph — to  help  the  owner  get  rich. 

The  Sacred  Heart  of  Jesus — to  help  the  owner  get  a  hus- 
band or  wife  as  the  need  may  be. 

GROTTO  GRAFT. 

Many  Catholic  churches  have  grottoes.  These  are  places 
where  shrines  are  placed.  Statues  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  of 
the  infant  Savior  and  of  other  holy  beings  are  erected  in  them, 
and  the  people  are  urged  to  go  to  them  to  pray  for  special 
favors.  As  a  rule  they  are  made  in  imitation  of  rockeries,  with 


GRAFT.  285 

moss  and  trickling  water.  The  water  is  represented  as  pos- 
sessing supernatural  virtue,  although  it  may  be  derived  from 
the  city  main  or  from  a  private  pump.  Sometimes  ice  is  put 
around  the  pipes  in  a  hidden  place  and  the  cold  of  the  water  is 
regarded  as  an  evidence  of  its  miraculous  quality.  Drinking 
cups  are  conveniently  placed,  and  the  faithful  are  recom- 
mended to  drink  freely  and  to  take  a  supply  home.  Revolv- 
ing candlesticks  and  offering  boxes  complete  the  scene. 

Some  of  these  grottoes  are  regarded  as  places  where  as- 
tounding miracles  are  wrought. 

I  know  a  priest  who  is  very  prominent  and  wealthy.  A 
few  years  ago  he  established  a  grotto  in  his  church,  and  an- 
nounced publicly  that  he  had  imported  several  barrels  of  the 
blessed  water  of  Lourdes  which  the  faithful  could  obtain  at 
the  grotto.  His  barrels  were  like  the  cruse  which  held  the 
widow's  oil  in  the  time  of  the  prophet  Elijah — they  never 
gave  out  though  daily  drawn  upon. 

Grotto  graft  goes  to  the  pastor. 

HOLY  THURSDAY  GRAFT. 

The  Blessed  Sacrament  is  generally  kept  enclosed  in  the 
tabernacle  of  the  main  altar.  On  Holy  Thursday  morning  the 
Blessed  Sacrament  is  removed  and  carried  in  procession. 
Priests  and  prelates,  parochial  teachers  and  pupils  march  in 
the  procession  around  the  church,  while  the  people  kneel,  and 
the  Blessed  Sacrament  is  placed  in  what  is  called  the  altar  of 
repose.  Hundreds  of  candles  surround  it  as  well  as  a  pro- 
fusion of  costly  flowers.  At  the  foot  of  this  last  named  altar 
is  placed  a  collection  basket. 

Catholic  people  from  morning  till  night  on  Holy  Thurs- 
day come  to  church  to  kneel  in  front  of  this  altar  of  repose 
to  adore  the  Blessed  Sacrament.  They  are  exhorted  to  put 
liberal  offerings  into  the  collection  basket.  They  do.  Who 
gets  the  money?  The  pastor. 


286  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

GOOD  FRIDAY  OR  HOLY  LAND  GRAFT. 

In  Catholic  churches  on  Good  Friday  a  crucifix  (whicK 
embraces  a  cross  with  a  representation  of  Christ  upon  it)  is 
placed  on  a  pillow  just  at  the  sanctuary  rail  and  a  collection 
basket  is  put  near  it.  The  Catholic  people  are  exhorted  to 
kiss  the  crucifix  and  are  urged  to  place  an  offering  in  the  bas- 
ket ;  they  are  told  that  the  offering  will  be  sent  abroad  and  will 
be  used  for  the  preservation  and  renovation  of  the  holy  places 
in  Palestine.  As  this  solicitation  occurs  at  the  end  of  Lent 
the  good  Catjiolic  people  are  in  a  frame  of  mind  to  respond 
gladly,  and  large  offerings  are  accordingly  made.  Thousands 
of  Catholic  people  go  to  church  on  purpose  to  kiss  the  crucifix. 

Who  handles  the  contents  of  the  basket?  The  rector. 
Does  the  money  get  to  Palestine?  The  only  Holy  Land  it 
reaches  is  the  pocket  of  the  grafting  pastor. 

HOLY  SATURDAY  GRAFT. 

Holy  Saturday  is  the  day  before  Easter  Sunday.  On 
it  there  are  appropriate  religious  ceremonies,  among  them 
being  the  blessing  of  the  baptismal  font  and  blessing  water 
for  Easter  which  is  known  as  "  Easter  Holy  Water."  Large 
quantities  of  water  are  blessed,  barrels  and  wash-tubs  being 
borrowed  from  the  neighbors,  liquor  dealers  and  others  to  hold 
the  water. 

In  some  churches  this  water  is  bottled  by  the  priests, 
kept  on  hand  for  sale  and  actually  sold  at  so  much  per  bottle. 
Whg  gets  the  profits  from  this  bottling  industry? 

This  is  not  a  small  business,  as  Easter  holy  water  is  ex- 
pected to  be  kept  in  the  homes  of  the  devout  Catholics  all 
the  year  round,  and  to  be  supplied  for  twelve  months  they  must 
have  an  ample  quantity. 

There  is  a  Jesuit  parish  in  America  which  numbers  twenty 
thousand  people  where  this  bottling  industry  is  particularly 
in  evidence. 


GRAFT.  287 

EASTER  AND  CHRISTMAS  GRAFT. 

The  children  of  parochial  schools  are  directed  by  the  sis- 
ters to  bring  in  envelopes,  furnished  by  the  pastor,  Easter 
and  Christmas  offerings  to  the  Church  on  those  days.  Pub- 
lic inquiry  is  made  by  their  teachers  in  the  class  rooms  to  as- 
certain who  neglected  to  bring  these  offerings.  The  question 
is  asked :  "  How  many  of  you  children  did  not  bring  an  of- 
fering? Those  who  did  not  will  stand  up."  To  stand  up  un- 
der such  circumstances  is  a  great  humiliation  to  a  child.  Those 
who  stand  are  directed  to  procure  the  proper  envelopes  and 
to  depart  at  once  to  secure  the  offering.  Following  the  Easter 
of  1904  a  parochial  school  teacher  commanded  all  her  children 
to  stand  who  had  failed  to  bring  in  Easter  offerings;  and  she 
severely  reprimanded  the  delinquents,  and  said  to  them : 
"  When  I  was  a  little  girl  I  always  brought  a  Christmas  and 
Easter  offering."  One  of  the  children  asked,  "  Where  did 
you  get  the  money,  sister  ?  "  "I  got  it  from  my  parents,"  was 
the  reply;  and  thereupon  the  delinquent  children  were  sent 
home  to  ask  their  parents,  many  of  whom  were  poor  people, 
for  money  to  make  an  Easter  offering.  At  that  very  time 
their  pastor  was  just  recovering  from  a  debauch. 

For  the  Easter  and  Christmas  offerings  the  pastors  issue 
thousands  of  envelopes,  of  different  sizes  and  colors  to  fit  thp 
various  ages  and  classes.  These  envelopes  bear,  as  a  rule,  somt. 
religious  picture  calculated  to  stir  the  religious  emotions.  The 
pastor  get£  all  these  offerings. 

At  all  the  Masses  on  the  Sunday  preceding  Easter^  and 
Christmas  the  people  get  the  Gospel  of  money  instead  of  the- 
Gospel  of  Christ.  They  are  urged  to  lay  up  treasure  in  heaven 
by  putting  cash  in  the  Easter  and  Christmas  envelopes.  They 
are  reminded  of  the  heavenly  mansions,  and  they  are  urged 
to  make,  by  a  generous  offering,  their  title  good  to  a  heavenly 
house,  on  which  there  will  be  no  taxes. 


288  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

MISSION  GRAFT. 

I  now  call  attention  to  mission  grafting,  and  I  will 
describe  an  average  case.  The  rector  of  a  parish  concludes 
to  have  a  mission.  Such  a  mission  is  generally  held  once 
every  two  years,  alternating  with  a  church  fair.  A  mission  is 
a  succession  of  religious  services  for  the  people  of  the  parish. 
As  a  rule  it  never  lasts  less  than  two  weeks  and  in  large  par- 
ishes it  frequently  runs  four  weeks,  the  first  week  being  de- 
voted to  married  women,  the  second  week  to  the  young  women, 
the  third  week  to  the  married  men,  and  the  fourth  week  to  the 
young  men.  It  opens  at  the  Solemn  High  Mass  on  Sunday, 
and  services  follow  in  the  evenings  and  mornings  of  the  days 
of  the  mission,  and  sometimes  on  the  afternoons  of  three  or 
four  days  the  children  are  gathered  together  for  special  serv- 
ices. Confessions  are  heard  during  the  day  and  evening. 
For  the  mission  the  rector  engages  preachers  from  some  Re- 
ligious Order.  These  preachers  have  "  stock  sermons  "  which 
they  have  learned  by  heart  and  "  fire  off  "  in  the  various  par- 
ishes to  which  they  are  called  for  missions.  The  rector  will 
have,  as  a  rule,  preachers  from  a  different  Order  at  each  suc- 
ceeding mission.  The  mission  is  announced  two  or  three 
weeks  ahead.  Placards  are  put  up,  and  handbills  are  given 
out  at  the  church  door.  The  rector  goes  to  dealers  in  religious 
articles  and  gets  rock  bottom  prices ;  then  he  orders  a  stock 
consisting  of  scapulars,  rosaries,  crucifixes,  candlesticks,  me- 
dallions, holy  water  fonts,  prayer  books,  religious  pictures 
of  our  Lord,  the  Blessed  Virgin  and  the  Saints,  and  other 
mission  goods.  These  goods  are  placed  in  a  booth  in  the  rear 
of  the  church  or  in  the  basement  chapel  or  in  the  parochial 
nail.  Appropriate  signs  are  placed  calling  attention  to  the 
goods.  The  preachers  urge  the  people  to  buy  these  goods,  tell 
them  where  they  are  to  be  found,  and  ask  the  people  to  bring 
the  purchased  articles  to  the  altar  rail  im mediately  after  morn- 
ing Masses  to  have  them  blessed,  and  some  of  them  specially 
indulgenced.  These  articles  are  sold  to  the  people  at  two  OE 


GRAFT.  289 

three  times  their  cost  price.  A  collection  is  taken  up  at  each 
service,  and  sometimes  an  entrance  fee  is  demanded  at  the 
door  in  addition.  The  sermons  deal  with  those  things  which 
are  calculated  to  quicken  the  devotion  of  the  people  and  to 
stir  their  liberality.  The  people  contribute  most  generously 
to  these  collections,  which  are  taken  up  during  the  Masses 
in  the  morning  and  immediately  after  the  sermon  in  the  even- 
ing. The  people  are  given  to  understand  that  all  of  these  col- 
lections, less  a  moderate  amount  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
preachers  during  the  mission,  go  into  the  coffers  of  the  Re- 
ligious Order  to  which  the  preachers  belong,  to  be  used  to 
educate  young  men  for  the  missionary  work  of  that  Order. 
At  the  end  of  the  mission  for  each  division  of  the  people  a 
special  collection  is  taken  up  for  the  same  worthy  purpose.  The 
preachers  urge  this  collection  and  in  this  are  earnestly  sup- 
plemented by  the  rector,  who  implores  his  people  to  be  liberal 
to  the  holy  fathers.  The  preachers  generally  pass  the  col- 
lection baskets  which  they  frequently  empty  into  large  bas- 
kets which  are  carried  immediately  after  them  by  the  pastor 
and  his  assistants,  who  watch  the  people  closely  to  discover 
any  who  .may  fail  to  give  and  to  keep  the  holy  preachers  from 
slipping  any  of  the  collection  into  their  own  pockets.  Dur- 
ing the  mission  the  people,  particularly  the  women,  make  gen- 
erous offerings  to  the  preachers,  outside  of  the  collections,  for 
Masses  for  their  living  and  deceased  relatives  and  friends. 
The  services  for  each  division  end  with  a  special  sermon, 
special  collection  and  the -Benediction  of  the  Most  Holy  Sac- 
rament and  the  Papal  Blessing.  All  who  attend  the  mission 
a  certain  number  of  times,  and  go  to  confession  and  com- 
munion, receive  a  plenary  indulgence.  A  second  plenary  in- 
dulgence is  gained  by  all  those  who  are  present  at  the  final 
sermon,  special  collection,  Benediction  of  the  Most  Holy  Sacra- 
ment and  the  Papal  Blessing.  Now,  look  at  the  graft!  The 
rector  of  the  church  gets  all  the  collections  and  all  the  profit 
on  the  sale  of  the  religious  articles.  At  the  close  of  the  mis- 


290  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

sion  for  each  division  the  people  renew  their  baptismal  vows, 
sometimes  the  real  or  an  imaginary  baptismal  font  is  erected, 
and  the  people  hold  lighted  candles  in  their  hands.  They  buy 
these  candles  from  the  rector,  he  making  a  profit  on  their 
sale,  and  after  the  people  have  held  the  candles  a  few  minutes 
they  extinguish  them  and  they  are  collected  by  the  altar  boys 
and  •  are  used  afterwards  in  the  service  of  the  church,  thus 
saving  the  rector  that  much  expense.  He  has  both  the  can- 
dles and  the  money! 

A  certain  rector,  who  has  at  least  fifteen  thousand  souls 
in  his  parish,  and  is  a  hard  drinker,  concluded  to  have  a  mis- 
sion. He  engaged  four  Paulist  preachers.  He  laid  in  a  big 
stock  of  religious  goods.  The  Paulist  Fathers  came.  On  the 
Saturday  evening  preceding  the  opening  of  the  mission,  he 
expatiated  on  his  own  life  as  a  priest  and  recounted  his  many 
toils  and  sufferings  in  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord.  He  told  of 
his  valor  at  the  Battle  of  Gettysburg,  and  described  how  he 
helped  General  Meade  to  hurl  back  from  Cemetery  Ridge  the 
valiant  Confederates.  The  truth  was  that  he  never  saw  that 
battle.  Then  he  said :  "  We  will  open  the  holy  mission  to- 
morrow morning,  and  I  will  sing  the  Solemn  High  Mass." 
The  leader  of  the  Paulist  band  was  warned  not  to  depend  upon 
the  rector's  singing  the  High  Mass.  The  leader  then  di- 
rected one  of  his  band  to  remain  fasting  so  as  to  have  some 
one  ready  to  take  the  pastor's  place.  The  morning  came  and 
a  few  minutes  before  the  time  for  High  Mass  the  rector  said 
-he  would  not  sing  the  Mass.  He  was  not  in  a  fit  condition 
because  of  drink.  Were  it  not  for  the  warning,  one  of  the 
priests  would  have  had  to  say  Mass,  even  though  he  had  broken 
his  fast,  to  avoid  the  public  scandal  of  having  no  Mass.  The 
rector  announced,  however,  that  he  wanted  a  parade  around 
the  church,  preceding  the  solemn  High  Mass,  to  excite  pub- 
lic attention;  so  he  had  the  priests  and  altar  boys  form  in 
line  in  the  sacristy.  The  altar  boys  carried  the  cross,  lighted 
candles,  holy  water,  thurible  and  incense.  The  missionary 


GRAFT.  291 

and  parish  priests  were  fully  vested,  and  the  rector  brought 
up  the  rear  dressed  in  cassock,  surplice,  stole,  cope  and  ber- 
retta.  They  marched  from  the  sacristy  of  the  church  into  the 
rectory,  through  the  rectory  into  the  garden  and  onto  the 
street,  and  then  into  the  main  entrance  of  the  church,  up  the 
center  aisle,  the  pastor  endeavoring  to  chant  the  De  Profundis, 
the  Miserere  and  the  Te  Deutn.  They  went  to  their  respec- 
tive places  in  the  sanctuary.  One  of  the  Paulists  was  the  cele- 
brant of  the  Mass,  and  the  other  three  were  seated  in  chairs 
in  the  center  of  the  Sanctuary.  The  rector  mounted  the  plat- 
form of  the  altar,  and  turning  around  to  the  congregation  of 
at  least  2000  people,  and  blessing  himself,  said :  "  In  the 
name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
Amen.  My  dear  people,  I  am  your  pastor.  I  am  a  providen- 
tial entity.  I  was  sent  by  God  to  guide  and  direct  you.  I 
have  brought  here  these  four  wise  young  men  to  preach  to 
you.  They  cannot  do  so  without  my  authority.  I  have  got 
my  authority  from  God,  and  that  authority  I  will  now  give 
to  them,  and  they  will  preach  God's  word  to  you."  He  stag- 
gered down  to  the  three  Paulists,  each  of  whom  held  a  preach- 
ing stole,  and  taking  from  their  hands  the  stoles  he  kissed  them 
and  put  them  on  the  Paulists  and  put  his  hands  on  their  heads, 
made  the  sign  of  the  cross  over  them,  looked  towards  heaven 
and  breathed  on  them.  Then  he  said :  "  You  have  now  re- 
ceived the  Holy  Ghost  through  me,  and  you  may  preach  to  my 
people."  He  then  seated  himself  in  the  sanctuary,  and  the 
Mass  proceeded,  but  during  it  he  continually  interrupted  by 
giving  unnecessary  orders  to  the  altar  boys,  whom  he  kept 
running  around  in  every  direction  in  the  sanctuary.  This  mis- 
sion lasted  four  weeks  and  it  netted  the  rector  at  least  ten 
thousand  dollars  in  morning  and  evening  collections,  special 
collections  taken  up  at  the  end  of  the  mission  to  each  division 
of  the  people,  and  profits  on  the  sale  of  religious  goods,  which 
total  sum  he  put  into  his  own  pocket.  The  preachers  got 
through  the  confessional,  and  in  private  and  voluntary  of- 


2$2  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL, 

ferings,  a  large  sum.  The  rector  handed  the  preachers  for 
their  profitable  services  only  $400.  The  leader  of  the  band 
refused  to  leave  the  presbytery  till  he  got  $800,  saying  to 
the  pastor:  "You  are  not  going  to  have  all  of  our  blood 
money."  After  a  fierce  contention  he  succeeded  in  getting 
$800  out  of  the  pastor's  $10,000.  The  people  who  con- 
tributed were  given  to  understand  from  the  altar  by  the  mis- 
sionaries and  the  pastor  that  the  pastor  was  not  getting  any 
of  the  money  contributed,  except  just  enough  to  cover  the 
living  expenses  of  his  missionary  guests  and  the  extra  light- 
ing bill  for  the  church.  They  were  urged  with  great  earnest- 
ness to  make  generous  offerings.  Some  of  them  to  my  per- 
sonal knowledge  borrowed  money  to  put  into  the  collections. 
The  faithful  people  thought  that  they  were  giving  their  money 
to  God.  They  had  not  the  slightest  suspicion  that  a  game  of 
graft  was  being  played  upon  them  by  the  holy  preachers  and 
their  own  reverend  father  in  God.  The  poor  people!  Heaven 
help  them! 

During  the  month  of  June,  1904,  a  prominent  Catholic 
priest  lost  $50,000  in  speculation.  He  went  to  the  bucket  shop 
about  his  December  wheat  and  found  the  place  in  charge  of 
the  sheriff  and  the  proprietors  gone.  Fortunately  for  him 
several  mission  preachers  were  then  conducting  a  mission  in  his 
church,  and  at  this  time  (Friday)  the  mission  was  about  to 
end.  The  mission  preachers  urge  a  collection  on  the  last 
Friday  night  of  each  mission,  to  be  received  on  the  following 
Sunday,  and  on  the  night  of  this  "  black  Friday  "  the  people 
present  at  the  mission  heard  a  plea  for  a  large  collection  on 
the  following  Sunday  which  for  urgency  surpassed  any  they 
had  ever  heard  before,  and  the  object  put  before  them  was  the 
education  of  young  missionaries  and  the  conversion  of  Amer- 
ica. The  people  were  told  that  at  least  one  dollar  was  wanted 
from  the  poorest  person  in  the  parish  and  more  from  those 
in  better  circumstances,  and  that  God  would  return  a  thou- 
sandfold whatever  they  might  give.  The  preachers  said  that 


GRAFT.  293 

if  any  one  was  so  poor  that  he  could  not  give  a  dollar  at  the  clos- 
ing service  on  Sunday,  at  which  a  plenary  indulgence  would  be 
obtained  by  those  who  would  be  present  and  discharge 
all  the  obligations,  they  would  advise  him  to  take  a  street- 
car ride  instead  of  attending  the  service.  When  the  collection 
was  taken  on  that  Sunday  night  a  basketful  of  money  was 
received.  Surely  it  is  the  Catholic  clerical  gambler  who  has 
a  cinch  on  easily  recouping  his  speculative  losses ! 

I  know  of  Catholic  priests  who  have  bought  large  stocks 
of  religious  goods  for  missions,  sold  the  goods  at  big  profits, 
and  then  refused  to  pay  their  bills,  some  of  them  having  to 
be  sued,  after  vain  appeals  to  their  Bishops  and  Archbishops. 
A  nice  picture  this,  people  praying  on  such  specially  indul- 
genced  rosaries,  and  wearing  such  specially  indulgenced  scapu- 
lars! 

A  recently  appointed  Archbishop,  who  was  asked  to  com- 
pel dead-beat  priests  to  pay  their  bills,  replied :  "  I  did  not 
come  here  to  become  a  collector.  In  addition,  I  am  afraid 
you  will  get  into  trouble;  if  those  priests  hear  that  you  came 
here  they  may  boycott  your  store !  " 

REVOLVING  CANDLESTICK  GRAFT. 

Inside  the  sanctuary  rail  in  many  Catholic  churches  are 
revolving  candlesticks,  provided  with  a  number  of  tiers  of 
metal  sockets,  the  tiers  rising  in.  diminishing  diameter.  Each 
of  these  candlesticks  will  hold  on  an  average  about  one  hun- 
dred candles.  Two  boxes  are  placed  near  these  candlesticks, 
one  with  a  slot  to  permit  the  entry  of  money,  and  the  other 
box  rilled  with  small  candles. 

The  faithful  are  taught  that  it  is  a  holy  and  a  wholesome 
devotion  to  get  one  of  these  candles,  light  it  and  place  it  in 
a  vacant  socket  in  the  revolving  candlestick,  and  they  are 
told  that  they  may  perform  this  devotion  for  any  intention 
imaginable.  They  are  sometimes  led  to  believe  that  if  they 
perform  the  devotion  for  a  suffering  soul  in  purgatory,  that 


294  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

that  suffering  soul  ceases  to  burn  at  the  very  moment  the 
candle  is  lighted  and  remains  free  from  pain  during  the  burn- 
ing of  the  candle,  and  that  as  soon  as  the  candle  dies  out  the 
burning  commences  again. 

In  some  of  the  churches  there  are  two  revolving  candle- 
sticks to  accommodate  the  people. 

Who  gets  the  money  that  is  deposited  in  the  box?  The 
needy  pastor. 

CANDLEMAS  DAY  GRAFT. 

Candlemas  Day  is  the  second  of  February  annually.  It 
is  the  feast  day  of  the  purification  of  the  Blessed  Virgin. 

.  On  the  Sunday  preceding  Candlemas  Day  an  announce- 
ment is  made  of  Candlemas  Day  at  each  Mass,  and  families 
of  the  parish  are  requested  to  bring  a  supply  of  candles,  at 
least  a  few  pounds.  Candles-  of  the  purest  beeswax  are  re- 
quired, and  for  fear  that  the  people  will  not  get  the  pure  ar- 
ticle in  these  days  of  adulteration  the  priests  tell  them  that 
they  have  bought  a  large  supply  of  candles  which  they  have 
had  analyzed  and  know  to  be  absolutely  pure,  and  that  they  can 
be  purchased  in  the  sacristy  or  vestibule  of  the  church  on  or  be- 
fore the  morning  of  the  feast.  In  fact  the  people  are  often  pro- 
hibited from  purchasing  candles  elsewhere,  and  they  are  told 
that  if  they  buy  elsewhere  and  present  the  candles  for  bless- 
ing in  the  church  that  the  blessing  will  be  no  good.  The  re- 
sult is  that  the  people  purchase  the  clerical  candles. 

The  candles  presented  by  the  people  are  placed  in  the 
sanctuary  before  Mass  on  the  day  of  the  feast  and  they  are 
immediately  blessed  by  the  officiating  priest.  After  Mass  those 
who  presented  candles  receive  back  one  and  sometimes  two 
candles  which  they  take  to  their  homes  to  be  used  in  case  any 
member  of  the  family  should  require  the  last  Sacraments; 
and  also  to  be  used  during  lightning  storms  to  keep  away  the 
lightning. 

The  priest  makes  money  in  two  ways  on  these  candles. 
He  buys  them  cheap  at  wholesale  and  he  sells  them  at  retail 


GRAFT.  295 

at  an  immense  profit.  I  am  led  to  believe  that  the  priests  do 
not  secure  pure  beeswax  but  an  inferior  article.  On  Candle- 
mas Day  the  priest  gets  back  for  nothing  ninety  out  of  every 
hundred  candles  he  has  sold,  and  he  keeps  them  presumably 
for  use  on  the  altar,  but  few  of  them  are  so  used  because  of  the 
prevalence  of  gas  and  electric  light.  In  fact  the  priest  sells 
the  candles  over  again  on  next  Candlemas  Day. 

INDULGENCE  GRAFT. 

Catholic  people  are  not  strangers  to  various  forms  of  in- 
dulgences granted  for  the  performance  of  various  prescribed 
religious  duties,  neither  are  they  strangers  to  an  incessant 
demand  for  money  at  the  services  where  these  indulgences  are 
obtained. 

Clerical  grafters  in  America  are  making  graft  out  of  in- 
dulgences just  as  truly  as  the  clerical  grafters  of  former  days 
made  money  out  of  them,  even  if  the  methods  of  getting  the 
graft  are  not  just  the  same. 

How  strange  it  is  that  in  the  Church  of  Jesus  Christ  the 
loyal  and  devout  Catholic  people  cannot  earn  an  indulgence 
without  having  to  look  into  a  collection  box ! 

SPECIAL  COLLECTION  GRAFT. 

Pastors  find  many  excuses  for  asking  for  special  collec- 
tions. Money  is  solicited  for  repairs  to  the  parish  buildings, 
frescoing,  painting,  insurance,  interest  on  debt,  fuel,  etc.,  etc. 
The  object  itself  may  be  worthy  but  it  is  used  to  filch  money 
out  of  the  pockets  of  the  faithful  for  selfish  clerical  ends.  The 
Catholic  people  are  liberal  contributors  to  these  special  col- 
lections. They  give  far  more  than  the  object  presented  re- 
quires, and  the  grafting  pastor  pockets  the  excess. 

I  know  prominent  pastors  who  say  that  special  collections 
should  be  taken  frequently;  that  a  month  should  never  tie  al- 
lowed to  go  by  without  one ;  that  special  collections  keep  the 
people  in  the  habit  of  giving. 


2Q6  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

Formerly  the  people  gave  to  special  objects  by  simply 
putting  their  money  into  the  collection  baskets,  but  now  the 
custom  is  obtaining  of  having  the  people  enclose  their  contri- 
butions in  envelopes  which  are  given  out  on  the  preceding  Sun- 
day. On  these  envelopes  the  people  must  write  their  names, 
addresses  and  amounts,  and  the  pastor  personally  collects  them 
on  Sunday.  This  new  custom  is  followed  so  that  the  pastor 
may  know  what  the  people  give  and  who  fail  to  contribute. 

I  have  known  pastors  to  say  to  their  assistants,  "  Don't 
dance  attendance  upon  these  people  who  do  not  contribute 
when  they  are  asked  for  money." 

PETER'S  PENCE  GRAFT. 

Even  the  taking  of  the  Peter's  Pence  collection  has  been 
made  the  opportunity  for  graft.  The  cry  is  made :  "  O,  the 
Holy  Father  is  in  great  need  of  money !  Testify  your  love  to 
him  and  your  faith  in  Holy  Mother  Church  by  liberal  con- 
tributions !  "  The  honest  people  make  large  responses.  Does 
all  the  money  reach  the  Vatican?  No!  only  a  fraction.  Who 
gets  the  major  part?  Priests,  over  whom  there  is  no  financial 
supervision. 

The  following  resolution  was  passed  by  the  American 
Federation  of  Catholic  Societies,  at  its  convention  in  Detroit, 
August,  1904: 

Detroit  Evening  News,  August  4,  1904,  p.  6. 

We  commend  to  the  societies  which  we  represent  in  this 
convention  generous  endeavors  to  increase  the  contributions 
of  the  faithful  known  as  Peter's  Pence. 

What  a  thoughtful  and  unselfish  resolution ! 

Two  priests  were  once  gratefully  discussing  their  large 
Peter's  Pence  collections  and  rejoicing  in  the  strong  faith  of 
their  people.  Said  one  to  the  other :  "  How  much  did  you 
remit?"  "  O,  about  a  fourth/'  was  the  answer;  "how  much 
did  you  keep  ?  "  "  O,  I  always  charge  the  Holy  Father  sev- 


GRAFT.  297 

enty-five  per  cent  for  taking  up  His  collection/'  was  the  frank 
response. 

The  Peter's  Pence  collection  appeals  especially  to  the  poor 
of  all  lands  owing  to  their  great  faith  and  loyalty.  I  have 
known  poor  people  to  actually  borrow  money  to  put  into  this 
collection  when  their  children  were  in  need  of  food  and  clothes. 

In  view  of  the  accumulated  millions  of  dollars  amassed 
through  the  centuries  by  the  Vatican,  and  the  prodigality  ex- 
hibited by  princes  of  the  Church,  I  fail  to  see  the  righteousness 
of  calling  yearly  upon  the  poor  Catholic  people  of  the  world 
to  give  of  their  hard  earned  money  to  Rome. 

I  have  seen  poor  people  in  Ireland  walk  barefoot,  without 
breakfast,  carrying  to  the  church  a  Peter's  Pence  offering. 

CATHOLIC  UNIVERSITY  GRAFT. 

Pastors  take  up  public  collections,  pursuant  to  the  orders 
of  their  Bishop  and  Archbishop,  issued  in  obedience  to  the 
command  of  the  Holy  Father,  for  the  Catholic  University  at 
Washington,  D.  C,  which  is  expected  to  wield  a  dominant  in- 
fluence at  the  Capital  of  the  Nation.  The  honest  Catholic 
people  contribute  liberally.  Do  their  offerings  find  their  way 
to  Washington?  Yes,  they  do,  that  is,  the  balance  that  re- 
mains after  the  pastor  has  deducted  his  commission  for  taking 
up  the  collection. 

I  am  led  to  believe  that  the  funds  of  the  University  have 
been  grossly  mismanaged.  During  the  year  1904  the  Catholic 
world  was  startled  by  the  news  in  the  public  press  of  the  proba- 
ble loss  of  all  or  the  greater  part  of  the  vast  funds  of  the 
University  by  the  business  failure  of  a  prominent  Catholic 
layman  to  whom,  it  was  reported,  the  University  had  loaned 
its  money  at  an  attractive  rate  of  interest  but  with  inadequate 
attention  to  the  security.  The  Catholic  people  will  be  called 
upon  to  make  the  loss  good,  and  Catholic  clerical  grafters  are 
correspondingly  happy. 

It  might  be  interesting  to  know  the  records  of  the  priests 
who  receive  in  this  University  what  a  humorous  friend  of 


298  THE  PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

mine  calls  "  a  post-mortem  education."     I  know  a  number  of 
them  who  are  simply  clerical  blackguards. 

SODALITY  AND  LODGE  GRAFT. 

The  parish  sodalities  are  fruitful  sources  of  gain  to  the 
rector.  At  stated  times  their  members  approach  the  Holy 
Communion  in  a  body,  and  they  make  a  liberal  offering  to 
the  pastor.  Every  time  a  member  dies  his  or  her  sodality  has 
a  Mass  said.  In  addition  to  these  Masses,  which  are  said  fol- 
lowing the  decease  of  sodality  members,  often  a  sodality  has 
said  during  the  year  twelve  Masses  for  the  living  and  twelve 
Masses  for  the  dead,  and  the  pastor  receives  an  offering  for 
these.  Retreats  are  given  for  sodality  members  to  rest,  restore 
and  strengthen  them  spiritually;  but  the  retreat  always  ends 
in  a  special  collection,  and  a  profitable  business  is  done  by  the 
pastor  in  religious  articles.  The  sodality  treasuries  receive 
money  constantly  from  initiation  fees  and  dues ;  no  embarrass- 
ment happens  to  the  custodian  of  these  funds,  however,  by 
reason  of  their  bulk,  for  the  pastor  expects  and  receives  pres- 
ents of  sodality  cash.  I  have  known  of  sodalities  being  dis- 
banded which  objected  to  clerical  inroads  upon  their  funds. 
Some  pastors  handle  all  sodality  money  and  never  account  for 
it. 

There  are  also  in  Catholic  parishes  what  may  be  termed 
lodges  or  courts  of  certain  general  Catholic  Orders.  No  lodge 
or  court  can  be  instituted  without  the  permission  of  the  parish 
rector,  for  which  he  receives  graft.  Every  time  that  a  lodge 
loses  a  member  a  High  Mass  must  be  said,  for  which  the  pastor 
gets  an  offering.  The  members  of  each  lodge  or  society  ap- 
proach the  Holy  Communion  in  a  body  at  least  once  a  year, 
and  they  give  the  pastor  an  offering  for  a  Mass,  which  he  re- 
ceives from  them  when  the  arrangement  is  made  and  which 
Mass  he  may  not  say.  These  societies  require  doctors  and 
attorneys,  and  the  pastor  sees  to  it  if  he  has  any  available  pro- 
fessional relatives  that  they  secure  the  employment. 


GRAFT.  299 

Grafting  priests  make  money  by  electioneering  for  certain 
candidates  for  office  in  various  Catholic  societies.  Some  of 
them  spend  weeks,  and  even  months,  ahead  of  a  convention 
to  secure  votes  to  defeat  certain  candidates,  and  at  the  con- 
vention itself  they  are  indefatigable  workers.  Some  of  them 
make  long  journeys  for  such  electioneering  graft.  I  know  a 
prelate  who  is  over  eighty  years  of  age  who  traveled  from 
New  York  to  St.  Paul. 

ADVERTISING  GRAFT. 

Church  calendars,  programmes  for  church  fairs,  com- 
mencement days,  picnics,  etc.,  are  lucrative  sources  of  graft. 
Business  men  not  only  make  donations  of  merchandise,  but 
they  pay  liberally  for  space  in  the  programmes. 

Saloons  are  given  space  in  them,  and  wines  and  liquors 
for  family  and  individual  use  are  advertised. 

This  advertising  graft  is  no  trifling  matter. 

SACRAMENTAL  GRAFT. 

Certain  articles  are  used  by  priests  in  their  ministrations 
to  the  sick.  A  sick  call  cabinet  has  been  devised  to  hold  these 
things.  The  dealer  will  go  to  a  pastor  and  ask  permission 
to  sell  the  cabinet  to  the  households  of  the  parish.  The  pastor 
grants  his  permission  for  a  consideration.  I  have  never  known 
these  sick  call  cabinets  to  sell  for  less  than  five  dollars  and  I 
fail  to  see  how  they  can  possibly  cost  over  a  dollar  apiece 
to  make.  Every  family  is  commanded  to  buy. 

Commission  deals  are  also  made  by  pastors  with  dealers 
in  religious  books,  pictures  and  statuary,  and  the  unsuspecting 
people  are  urged  to  supply  themselves  with  these  things. 
Sometimes  these  articles  are  represented  as  being  specially  in- 
dulgenced  by  Rome,  and  larger  prices  are  consequently  de- 
manded, whereas  Ihe  fact  is  that  articles  which  have  been 
blessed  are  forbidden  to  be  sold  by  the  law  of  the  Church — 
they  must  be  bought  first  and  blessed  afterwards. 


3OO  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

Theological  students  are  much  in  evidence  as  canvassers 
for  these  pious  frauds. 

SAVINGS  BANK  GRAFT. 

The  plan  of  the  savings  banks  to  induce  people  to  save 
and  to  deposit  their  savings  by  giving  depositors  small  metal 
banks  in  which  they  can  place  savings,  but  which  the  bank  it- 
self can  only  open,  has  been  adopted  by  clerical  grafters,  and 
now  in  Catholic  parishes  these  metal  banks  are  found  in  the 
homes  of  the  faithful.  They  are  given  out  by  the  pastor  to 
hold  the  offerings  from  the  family.  The  rector  comes  around 
or  sends  his  assistant  once  a  month  to  open  the  banks  and  take 
the  contents.  In  some  churches  the  people  are  told  that 
amounts  and  names  will  be  called  out  at  the  end  of  the  year. 
This  is  done  to  frighten  them  into  larger  giving,  and  at  the 
same  time  to  prevent  the  assistants  from  embezzling. 

The  people  are  taught  that  if  they  do  not  make  generous 
deposits  in  these  banks  they  may  expect  the  curse  of  God  to 
fall  upon  them. 

ELEEMOSYNARY  GRAFT. 

The  Catholic  people  are  being  importuned  constantly  in 
their  churches,  homes,  places  of  business,  and  fraternal  so- 
cieties to  contribute  for  various  Catholic  eleemosynary  enter- 
prises both  at  home  and  abroad.  Ofter  the  begging  is  done 
by  itinerant  clerical  solicitors. 

The  people  who  contribute  do  not  know  whether  the  ob- 
ject is  real  or  mythical.  If  it  is  a  myth  the  contributions  all 
go  to  graft ;  if  it  is  genuine  the  contributors  do  not  know  how 
much  goes  to  it  and  how  much  to  graft. 

Resident  pastors  join  hands  with  these  itinerant  grafters 
and  assist  them  in  fleecing  the  faithful  for  a  good  round  share 
of  the  collections. 

From  what  I  know  of  the  Bishops  in  Ireland  I  am  cer- 
tain that  they  would  never  send  clerical  collectors  to  America 
to  solicit  funds  for  their  churches  if  they  knew  of  the  grafting 


GRAFT.  3OI 

and  dissipation  connected  with  such  efforts  here  or  the  sources 
from  which  much  of  the  contributions  come. 

UNDERTAKING  GRAFT. 

There  are  priests  who  are  in  the  undertaking  business, 
but  they  run  it  in  the  name  of  some  relative  or  trusty  in- 
dividual. They  virtually  compel  the  dying  to  direct  that  Mr. 
so  and  so  (their  own  store)  have  charge  of  the  funeral,  or 
they  compel  the  relatives  of  the  deceased  to  send  the  business 
to  him. 

Other  priests  have  commission  arrangements  with  certain 
undertakers.  On  each  funeral  which  they  get  through 
clerical  influence  they  pay  the  Reverend  Father  in  God  a  cer- 
tain percentage. 

Undertaking  graft  is  likewise  made  at  Catholic  hospitals, 
asylums  and  other  institutions  where  inmates  die. 

EMPLOYMENT  GRAFT. 

There  are  priests  who  do  a  thriving  business  in  the  big 
cities  in  securing  situations  for  Catholic  men  and  women  in 
all  lines  of  employment.  Their  charge  depends  upon  the 
amount  of  the  monthly  salary  the  employee  receives.  I  have 
known  them  to  exact  a  hundred  dollar  fee. 

"PULL"   GRAFT. 

There  are  influential  pastors  in  the  great  American  cities 
who  make  a  great  deal  of  money  by  using  their  influence  to 
help  law-breakers  escape  punishment  and  to  get  them  out  of 
places  of  punishment  after  they  have  been  convicted  and  sen- 
tenced in  the  courts.  They  importune  verbally  and  in  writing 
state's  attorneys,  judges,  wardens,  prison  boards,  State  gov- 
ernors and  Congressmen,  the  range  and  direction  of  their  ef- 
forts being  controlled  by  the  amount  of  graft  and  influence. 
I  have  known  priests  to  intercede  verbally  and  in  writing  for 
houses  of  prostitution.  There  are  priests  who  have  in  their 
possession  diamonds,  rings,  watches  and  other  articles  of  jew- 


3O2  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

elry  which  were  given  to  them  by  the  thieves  who  stole  them. 
The  watches  they  carry  and  the  other  articles  of  jewelry  they 
wear  when  they  are  in  lay  costume,  or  they  dispose  of  them 
by  sale  or  gift. 

Thieves  and  murderers  often  escape  their  just  deserts 
at  the  hands  of  the  law  through  the  "  pull  "  of  clerical  grafters. 

SCHOOL  PROCESSION  GRAFT. 

I  know  of  parochial  schools  where  processions  of  the 
children  are  had  which  are  simply  dress  parades,  the  garments 
being-  prescribed,  and  if  the  children  can  be  persuaded  to  pur- 
chase their  outfits  at  certain  stores  then  there  is  graft,  and  such 
arrangements  are  usually  made.  The  nuns  generally  sell  to 
the  children  wreaths,  veils,  sashes  and  ribbons.  These  pro- 
cessions are  also  designed  to  entice  the  Catholic  pupils  of  the 
public  schools  to  attend  the  parochial  school  so  that  they  can 
march  in  them. 

In  some  of  these  processions  the  priest,  marching  at  the 
rear,  carries  the  Blessed  Sacrament,  and  the  children  marching 
ahead  strew  his  way  with  flowers  which  their  parents  had  to 
purchase,  the  parochial  florist  making  a  generous  offering  later 
to  the  rector  or  to  the  teachers. 

COMMENCEMENT  DAY  GRAFT. 

Commencement  day  is  one  of  graft  in  parochial  schools. 
From  Easter  till  its  arrival  the  school  work  is  virtually  aban- 
doned, and  all  the  children  are  drilled  in  exercises  for  gradua- 
tion day,  the  graduating  class  being  drilled  in  a  play.  On 
commencement  day  the  children  have  to  appear  in  prescribed 
suits,  which  they  are  often  forced  to  rent  through  the  rector 
or  teachers,  and  the  parents,  relatives,  friends  and  strangers 
pay  a  liberal  entrance  fee  to  see  the  children  perform.  Each 
child  makes  an  appearance  if  it  is  only  to  cross  the  stage. 

Commencement  day  exercises  are  held  in  the  largest  halls 
obtainable,  and  often  theatres  are  procured.  Sometimes  they 


GRAFT.  303 

are  held  in  the  church,  the  sanctuary  being  used  for  the  stage. 
For  weeks  in  advance  of  the  rendition  of  the  programme  the 
Catholic  parochial  school  children  run  around  day  and  night 
peddling  tickets,  which  range  in  price  from  fifty  cents  to  one 
dollar.  The  children  are  encouraged  to  make  large  sales  of 
tickets  by  little  prizes,  such  as  cheap  rosary  beads,  scapulars 
or  medals.  An  immense  number  of  tickets  is  usually  sold. 
Saloon-keepers  are  harassed  by  the  importunities  of  the  youth- 
ful ticket  sellers.  Saloon-keepers  are  urged  by  the  rector  to 
sell  bundles  of  tickets  to  the  brewers  with  whom  they  deal. 

In  many  schools  the  certificate  of  graduation,  signed  by 
the  pastor,  costs  two  dollars. 

TUITION  GRAFT. 

The  parochial  schools  demand  tuition  fees.  These  fees 
are  fixed  by  the  parish  rector.  If  there  were  no  public  schools 
the  Catholic  parents  would  be  absolutely  at  the  mercy  of  any 
sordid  rector.  The  public  school  prevents  Catholic  parents 
from  being  squeezed  dry.  Who  gets  the  tuition  fees?  The 
rector. 

SCHOOL  BOOK  GRAFT. 

I  wonder  if  the  dear  Catholic  people  have  ever  thought 
about  the  profit  there  is  in  parochial  school  books !  Well,  there 
is  such  a  thing  as  parochial  school  book  graft.  It  is  a  source 
of  great  gain  to  those  who  have  it  in  charge.  Think,  Catholic 
people,  of  the  books  required  for  each  child  from  the  com- 
mencement to  the  close  of  his  or  her  parochial  school  educa- 
tion ;  think  of  the  profit  on  all  of  these ;  and  then  multiply  that 
profit  by  the  hundreds  of  thousands  of  parochial  school  chil- 
dren, and  perhaps  you  will  be  able  to  comprehend  the  magni- 
tude of  this  kind  of  easy  graft. 

About  the  only  way  for  a  parochial  school  superintendent 
to  stop  this  kind  of  grafting  by  parochial  school  principals  is 
to  erect  a  printing  plant;  but  then  this  simply  transfers  this 
graft  from  the  priest  to  his  bishop  or  archbishop. 


304  .         THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

Catholic  people  will  do  well  if  they  ponder  carefully  the 
action  of  any  bishop  or  archbishop  who  starts  a  publishing 
plant.  It  is  not  an  enterprise  which  is  as  innocent  and  un- 
selfish as  it  seems.  Look  closely  and  you  will  see  that  the  idea 
is  conceived,  brought  forth  and  nurtured  by  graft. 

ACCIDENT  SUIT  GRAFT. 

The  public  has  no  idea  of  the  money  that  is  made  by  cler- 
ical grafters  out  of  accident  suits.  Every  day,  men,  women 
and  children  are  being  maimed  by  railways,  street-cars,  ele- 
vators, defective  side- walks,  etc.,  and  each  injured  one  has  a 
claim  for  damages,  whether  well  or  poorly  founded,  and  can 
begin  a  suit  for  damages.  If  the  injury  is  severe  and  the 
negligence  of  the  defendant  is  shown  to  have  been  gross  a  jury 
may  assess  heavy  damages. 

Priests  often  act  as  settlement  agents,  and  they  make  the 
injured  person  pay  liberally  for  such  service. 

This  kind  of  graft  is  not  to  be  ignored  because  in  large 
parishes  of  Catholic  working  people  some  one  is  injured  almost 
daily. 

TESTIMONY  GRAFT. 

There  are  priests  in  the  great  American  cities  who  do 
not  scruple  to  go  on  the  witness  stand  in  the  courts  of  justice 
as  character  or  alibi  witnesses,  or  to  give  other  "  necessary  " 
evidence,  for  graft. 

I  know  several  famous  cases  in  which  such  priests  have 
appeared  as  witnesses.  In  one  of  these  cases  two  Jesuit  priests, 
among  the  most  prominent  in  the  United  States,  appeared  on 
the  witness  stand,  and  under  the  solemnity  of  an  oath  testi- 
fied in  behalf  of  the  defendant,  who  was  charged  with  pollut- 
ing the  very  fountains  of  justice.  One  of  these  Jesuits  was 
an  alibi  witness  and  the  other  was  a  character  witness. 

This  graft  is  sporadic  in  its  character,  and  I  refer  to  it 
to  put  judges  and  jurors  on  their  guard. 


GRAFT.  305 

NATURALIZATION  GRAFT. 

There  are  priests  in  America  who  do  not  scruple  to  make 
graft  out  of  the  naturalization  of  foreigners  who  have  not 
been  in  the  United  States  the  prescribed  legal  time  but  who  for 
personal  reasons  desire  to  become  citizens,  by  assisting  them  to 
secure  naturalization  papers. 

JANITOR  GRAFT. 

A  mercenary  rector  will  make  his  pupils  do  janitor 
work.  I  have  seen  young  boys  and  girls  cleaning  the  outside 
of  third  story  windows  in  parochial  school  buildings,  and  they 
had  to  sit  or  stand  on  the  window  ledge  while  working.  They 
also  are  compelled  in  some  parochial  schools  to  do  inside 
cleaning. 

ASSEMBLY  HALL  GRAFT. 

Assembly  halls  are  provided  in  parochial  schools.  Such 
halls  are  rented  by  rectors  to  various  societies,  and  they  pocket 
the  rent.  They  give  dances  in  them  and  pocket  the  receipts. 
They  also  rent  them  for  dances. 

A  prominent  pastor  gave  a  dance  (under  the  patronage 
of  the  Young  Ladies'  Sodality  of  the  Blessed  Virgin)  on  St. 
Patrick's  night,  1904,  in  the  assembly  hall  of  his  new  school, 
which  had  cost  about  $100,000.00,  at  which  over  three  hun- 
dred couples  were  present  at  a  good  fat  fee  apiece.  He  got 
this  dance  money,  and  also  the  profits  from  the  refreshment 
counters.  His  receipts  from  the  cigars  and  soft  drinks  were 
not  to  be  despised.  Any  parochial  society  in  his  parish  which 
refuses  to  rent  that  hall  will  have  to  disband.  It  is  now 
rented  six  months  ahead  for  dances. 

MIRACLE  WORKING  GRAFT. 

There  are  priests  who  impose  upon  the  credulity  of  Cath- 
olics by  claiming  to  be  able  to  restore  the  health  of  the  sick  by 
supernatural  power.  The  news  percolates  through  the  ranks 
of  the  faithful  that  Father  so  and  so,  because  of  his  peculiar 


306  THE  PAROCHIAL  "SCHOOL. 

sanctity  of  life,  can  heal  the  sick.  Sick  people  seek  out  such 
a  priest,  and  he  treats  them  by  prayer,  making  the  sign  of  the 
cross,  breathing  upon  them,  applying  holy  water  and  by  men- 
tal suggestion. 

They  insinuate  that  they  do  not  make  any  charge  for  their 
treatment,  but  suggest  that  it  would  help  the  treatment  to 
have  some  Masses  said  for  which  the  patient  can  make  an 
offering.  These  miracle  workers  make  great  graft.  The  treat- 
ments are  administered  at  the  rectories  and  at  the  homes  of 
the  sick. 

One  priest  made  a  specialty  of  working  miracles  by  using 
a  certain  brand  of  holy  water  which  he  put  up.  His  labora- 
tory was  stocked  with  bottles  and  corks.  In  the  corner  was 
an  ordinary  city  water  hydrant.  He  got  tired  blessing  a 
quantity  of  water  from  time  to  time  so  he  blessed  the  city  water 
hydrant  and  then  when  he  wanted  holy  water  he  just  filled  the 
bottle  directly  from  the  faucet.  The  holy  water  was  to  be 
taken  internally  and  applied  externally.  I  know  of  a  case 
where  a  poor  workman  gave  him  fifteen  dollars  to  cure  his 
wife.  All  the  poor  man  got  for  his  money  was  a  bottle  of 
this  holy  water.  The  wife  died  and  the  family  was  evicted 
for  non-payment  of  rent. 

THE  LAST  STRAW. 

Catholic  clerical  grafters  even  made  money  out  of  my 
unjust  and  invalid  excommunication  of  October,  1901.  They 
advised  the  people  to  get  Masses  said  for  my  conversion,  pre- 
tending to  be  my  warm  friends  in  order  to  deceive  the  people. 

A  certain  notoriously  drunken  and  grafting  rector 
was  particularly  solicitous  in  my  behalf.  A  gentleman  went 
to  see  him  to  arrange  for  a  Requiem  Mass,  and  noticing  his 
shaky  appearance  said :  "  Father,  you  seem  to  be  very  de- 
crepit." "  No  wonder  I  seem  so,"  replied  the  priest,  "  for 
1  am  on  my  knees  day  and  night  praying  for  Father  Crowley ; 
the  doctors  tell  me  that  I  am  likely  to  get  locomotor  ataxia 
from  constant  kneeling ;  now  look  here,  I  know  that  you  are  a 


GRAFT.  307 

warm  friend  of  Father  Crowley;  I  am  afraid  there  is  very 
little  hope  for  his  salvation;  the  only  way  that  I  can  see  to 
save  him  is  by  Masses,  High  Masses,  for  these  Low  Masses  are 
no  good;  the  High  Masses  never  fail;  when  I  go  on  the  altar 
in  my  unsullied  vestments  and  the  organ  peals  and  I  lift  my 
hands  and  raise  my  voice,  my  cry  penetrates  the  courts  of 
heaven,  reaches  the  Almighty,  takes  Him  by  violence  and  com- 
pels Him  to  grant  my  prayer.  Now,  you  are  worth  fifty  thou- 
sand dollars,  and  I  am  directed  by  God  to  tell  you  that  you 
ought  to  pay  me  at  least  half  of  your  fortune  to  have  me  say 
High  Masses  for  the  salvation  of  Father  Crowley;  and  I  will 
also  give  you  permission  to  go  through  the  parish  and  solicit 
others  to  follow  your  noble  example."  Up  to  date  friend 
has  wisely  kept  his  estate  intact. 

I  have  reason  to  believe  that  large  amounts  of  grait  were 
made  in  this  way,  because  Masses  were  said  for  me  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  at  the  suggestion  of  grafting  priests. 
The  parochial  school  teachers  had  the  children  kneel  and  pray 
for  me  in  the  class  rooms.  They  also  had  them  save  their 
pennies  to  make  an  offering  for  Masses  in  my  behalf. 

I  know- 1  have  had  God's  blessing.  The  honest  prayers  of 
the  innocent  children  and  misguided  people  no  doubt  brought 
divine  help  to  me  to  persevere  in  my  crusade  against  sin. 

THE  HANDLING  AND  INVESTING  OF  GRAFT. 

Who  helps  the  pastor  handle  his  graft?  Some  trusty 
relative,  such  as  a  brother  or  a  sister  or  a  niece  or  a  nephew 
or  a  cousin.  These  relatives  are  usually  found  among  the 
regular  inmates  of  parochial  residences  and  are  especially 
in  evidence  during  church  fairs  and  missions,  and  at  the  Christ- 
mas and  Easter  collections.  They  come  to  safeguard  the  paro- 
chial funds  and  they  most  liberally  reward  themselves  for 
their  arduous  labors.  Many  of  these  relatives  have  large 
bank  accounts,  and  numerous  real  estate  holdings.  They  get 
inside  tips  on  the  location  of  new  churches,  and  buy  up  the 
desirable  property  and  reap  a  handsome  profit  by  the  advance 


308  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

in  value  produced  by  the  establishment  of  a  new  parish.  An 
examination  of  the  records  of  the  various  counties  in  which 
are  located  the  big  cities,  would  disclose  some  very  interesting 
facts  in  reference  to  real  estate  being  owned  by  priests  and 
their  relatives. 

The  pastor's  housekeeper  is  often  the  power  behind  the 
throne,  even  though  she  may  be  no  blood  relation. 

Some  of  my  readers  may  say,  "  Well,  I  don't  believe  that 
these  Catholic  priests  have  so  much  money,  I  never  hear  of 
their  investing  any  of  it  or  paying  taxes."  Clerical  grafters 
are  large  investors  in  real  estate  in  outside  dioceses,  and  in 
stocks  and  bonds,  as  well  as  in  "  get-rich-quick  "  enterprises. 

Some  of  my  readers  may  wonder  how  the  various  Cath- 
olic hospitals,  asylums,  orphanages,  etc.,  are  supported,  and 
they  may  think  that  .much  of  the  money  which  the  priests  re- 
ceive goes  to  these  institutions.  Not  so.  They  are  conducted 
by  various  Religious  Orders  which  solicit  the  necesary  funds, 
and  they  have  no  financial  claim  upon  the  rectors  of  parishes. 

A  SUGGESTION  IN  ARITHMETIC. 

Catholic  readers,  why  not  estimate  the  income  of  your 
pastors  ?  You  know  the  number  of  worshipers  who  attend  the 
Masses  said  in  your  churches,  and  approximately  the  min- 
imum which  each  one  pays  for  a  sitting ;  you  know  the  urgency 
of  the  various  church  collections,  and  you  can  make  a  fair  esti- 
mate of  the  responses;  you  know  about  how  many  marriages, 
funerals  and  baptisms  occur  in  a  year;  you  can  form  an  ac- 
curate idea  of  the  success  of  the  church  mission,  and  of  the 
fair;  you  can  make  an  accurate  guess  at  the  pastor's  receipts 
from  sociables,  picnics,  card  parties,  dances,  etc.  You  can 
arrive  at  a  reasonable  estimate  of  the  receipts  from  the  paro- 
chial school  children  for  tuition.  It  will  not  be  a  difficult  mat- 
ter for  you  to  estimate  the  rector's  legitimate  expenses.  Make 
the  total  of  his  receipts  and  disbursements  and  you  will  see 
^omething  of  the  graft  of  which  I  complain. 


GRAFT.  309 

Let  me  help  you,  Catholic  readers,  to  calculate  the  annual 
receipts  of  your  pastor  by  putting  before  you  a  conservative 
hypothetical  statement  of  the  income  of  the  rector  of  a  small 
city  parish,  and  the  income  of  the  pastor  of  a  large  city  parish. 

Let  us  suppose  that  only  two  Masses  are  said  on  Sunday 
in  the  small  parish,  and  that  250  worshipers  attend  each 
Mass;  and  that  ten  cents,  on  the  average,  is  paid  at  the  door 
by  each  worshiper;  this  would  equal  $25  for  each  Mass  or 
$50  for  both  Masses.  Suppose  that  ten  cents,  on  the  average, 
is  received  from  each  worshiper,  either  as  a  contribution  to 
the  Offertory  collection  or  for  a  share  in  a  Mass  which  is 
to  be  said  sometime  during  the  week ;  this  would  equal  $25 
at  each  Mass  or  $50  at  both  Masses.  Add  together  the  $50 
received  at  the  door  and  the  $50  received  for  shares 
in  the  prospective  Mass,  and  the  result  will  be  $100,  which  is 
the  income  on  one  Sunday.  Multiply  this  $100  by  52  and  the 
product  will  be  $5,200,  which  is  the  amount  that  the  pastor 
receives  for  one  year  from  his  Sunday  services  alone.  In  ad- 
dition to  this  amount  he  receives  offerings  on  the  six  Holy 
Days  of  Obligation,  and  proceeds  from  various  forms  of  graft. 
His  total  annual  income  is  at  least  $10,000. 

Now  let  us  suppose  that  five  Masses,  (exclusive  of  the  Mass 
for  the  children),  are  said  on  Sunday  in  the  large  city  parish, 
and  that,  on  the  average,  1,500  worshipers  attend  each  Mass; 
and  that  ten  cents,  on  the  average,  is  paid  at  the  door  by  each 
worshiper;  this  would  equal  $150  for  each  Mass  or  $750  for 
the  five  Masses.  Suppose  that  ten  cents,  on  the  average,  is 
received  from  each  worshiper,  either  as  a  contribution  to  the 
Offertory  collection  or  for  a  share  in  a  Mass  which  is  to 
be  said  sometime  during  the  week;  this  would  equal  $150  at 
each  Mass  or  $750  at  the  five  Masses.  Add  together  the  $750 
received  at  the  door  and  the  $750  received  for  shares  in  the 
prospective  Mass,  and  the  result  will  be  $1,500,  which  is  the 
income  on  one  Sunday.  Multiply  this  $1,500  by  52  and  the 
product  will  be  $78,000,  which  is  the  amount  that  the  pastor 


3IO  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

receives  for  one  year  from  his  Sunday  services  alone.  In 
addition  to  this  amount  he,  too,  receives  offerings  on  the  six 
Holy  Days  of  Obligation,  and  proceeds  from  various  forms  of 
graft.  His  total  annual  income  is  at  least  $100,000. 

The  pastor  of  a  medium  city  parish  is  annually  in  receipt 
of  as  much  money  as  the  Government  of  the  United  States 
pays  the  President. 

What  does  the  good  pastor  do  with  his  income?  Does 
he  lessen  the  parish  debt?  Does  he  support  benevolent  insti- 
tutions? Does  he  send  it  to  the  Pope?  No,  he  uses  it  mainly 
for  his  own  convenience,  pleasure  and  profit. 

Assistant  pastors  receive  from  twenty-five  to  fifty  dollars 
a  month,  their  food  and  shelter  and  their  laundry,  minus  boiled 
shirts,  cuffs  and  lay-collars.  It  takes  a  small  amount  of  money 
comparatively  to  pay  the  assistant  pastor,  the  janitor,  the  gas 
and  coal  bills,  insurance  and  painting  bills. 

Catholic  people,  let  me  ask  you  again,  what  becomes  of  the 
money  received  by  your  pastor?  God  and  the  rector  alone 
know.  If  you  would  really  like  to  find  out  I  suggest  that  you 
ask  your  pastor,  but  let  me  caution  you  to  secure  police  pro- 
tection first. 

CONCLUSION. 

Leo  XIII.  said: 

Let  the  workingman  be  urged  and  led  to  the  worship 
of  God,  to  the  earnest  practice  of  religion,  and,  among  other 
things,  to  the  keeping  holy  of  Sundays  and  Holy-days.  Let 
him  learn  to  reverence  and  love  Holy  Church,  the  common 
Mother  of  us  all ;  and  hence  to  obey  the  precepts  of  the 
Church,  and  to  frequent  the  Sacraments,  since  they  are  the 
means  ordained  by  God  for  obtaining  forgiveness  of  sin 
and  for  leading  a  holy  life.  (Great  Encyclical  Letters'  of  Leo 
XIII.,  p.  2440 

How  can  any  sensible  CatholicTrich  or  poor, >be  led  to 
the  worship  of  God  by  clerical  grafters  ?  The  sad  fact  is  that 
multitudes  of  honest  Catholic  people  are  becoming  infidels 
owing  to  the  mercenary  conduct  of  their  Reverend  Fathers  and 


GRAFT.  311 

Lords  in  God,  who  are,  as  already  explained,  the  officers  of  the 
parochial  school. 

Our  Lord  and  Savior,  Jesus  Christ,  warned  the  people 
against  the  bad  example  of  the  "Scribes  and  Pharisees,  who 
were  their  religious  guides.  Our  Lord's  words  are  strikingly 
applicable  to  grafting  and  immoral  Catholic  priests  and  pre- 
lates, and  I  quote  from  His  sayings,  as  they  appear  in  the 
Catholic  Bible,  (St.  Matthew's  Gospel,  Chap.  XXIII,  verses 
13,  14,  25,  27,  28),  as  follows: 

Woe  to  you  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites;  because 
you  shut  the  kingdom  of  heaven  against  men,  for  you  your- 
selves do  not  enter  in ;  and  those  that  are  going  in,  you  suffer 
not  to  enter. 

Woe  to  you  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites ;  because  you 
devour  the  houses  of  widows,  praying  long  prayers.  For  this 
you  shall  receive  the  greater  judgment. 

Woe  to  you  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites ;  because  you 
make  clean  the  outside  of  the  cup  and  of  the  dish,  but  within 
you  are  full  of  rapine  and  uncleanness. 

Woe  to  you  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  hypocrites;  because 
you  are  like  to  whited  sepulchres,  which  outwardly  appear 
to  men  beautiful,  but  within  are  full  of  dead  men's  bones,  and 
of  all  filthiness.  So  you  also  outwardly  indeed  appear  to  men 
just;  but  inwardly  you  are  full  of  hypocrisy  and  iniquity. 

The  inordinate  love  of  money  by  Catholic  priests  and 
prelates  is  making  atheists  of  Catholic  people.  The  Catholic 
laity  cannot  endure  clerical  avarice.  In  this  connection  I 
quote  as  follows: 

For  the  vice  of  avarice  there  seems  to  be  less  to  be  said 
than  for  any  other  of  the  failings  to  which  flesh  is  heir.  We 
remember  from  our  days  of  the  classics  how  even  the  pagans, 
who  made  gods  of  some  of  the  other  vices,  detested  avarice. 
We  recollect  how  the  Roman  poet  gives  the  lowest  place  in 
hell  among  parricides  to  those  qui  divitiis  soli  incubuere  re- 
pertis,  adding,  quae  maxima  turba  est  (Virg.  ^gn.  vi.  610). 

Milton  makes  the  angel  of  wealth  less  attractive  than  any 
other  of  the  angels  that  fell: 


312  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

"  Mammon,  the  least  erected  spirit  that  fell 
From  heaven;  for  ev'n  in  heaven  his  looks  and  thoughts 
Were  always  downward  bent,  admiring  more 
The  riches  of  heaven's  pavement,  trodden  gold, 
,Than  aught  divine,  or  holy  else  enjoy'd 
In  vision  beatific." 

Avarice  was  the  ruin  of  the  one  bad  Apostle.  It  ought 
to  be  the  most  unnatural  in  followers  of  Him  who  had  not 
where  to  lay  His  head,  and  yet  often  it  is  looked  upon  as  the 
clerical  vice. 

Bishop  Moriarty  tells  us  that  the  laity  hate  the  vice  of 
avarice  in  a  priest  more  than  any  other.  "  When  they  talk 
of  a  priest  or  of  the  priesthood  there  is  no  more  frequent  sub- 
ject of  conversation  than  our  love  of  money  or  the  amount  of 
money  that  we  receive  or  possess.  .  .  .  They  despise  and 
hate  an  avaricious  priest.  Avarice  they  never  pardon,  either 
in  life  or  in  death.  To  them  it  is  as  the  sin  against  the  Holy 
Ghost.  It  is  quite  clear  that  if  the  first  preachers  of  the  Gos- 
pel admitted  none  to  Mass  who  could  not  pay,  and  drove  hard 
bargains  for  their  presence  at  the  weddings  of  the  first  Chris- 
tians, the  world  would  never  have  been  converted."  (The 
Priest,  His  Character  and  Work,  by  James  Keatinge,  Canon 
and  Administrator  of  St.  George's  Cathedral,  Southwark,  Eng- 
land, and  Diocesan  Inspector  of  Schools,  p.  115.) 

It  is  said  of  St.  Bernard : 

His  earnest  desire  and  the  yearning  of  his  soul  is  ex- 
pressed to  the  Pope  in  the  following  language :  "  Would  that 
I  might  have  the  happiness  of  seeing,  before  I  die,  the  restora- 
tion of  that  glorious  age  of  the  Church  when  the  Apostles  cast 
out  their  nets,  not  in  search  of  silver  and  gold,  but  to  take 
hauls  of  precious  souls." 

St.  Bernard's  earnest  'desire  is  my  daily  prayer. 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


THE   PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL   PUPILS. 


INADEQUATELY  INSTRUCTED  SECULARLY. 

Having  in  preceding  chapters  dealt  with  the  officials  and 
teachers  of  the  parochial  school,  I  deem  it  proper  at  this  time 
to  consider  the  parochial  school  pupils. 

As  to  the  secular  instruction  imparted  to  children  in  the 
parochial  school  I  feel  that  I  need  say  very  little  about  its  in- 
adequacy in  view  of  what  I  have  said  about  the  deficient 
pedagogic  talents  and  training  of  the  parochial  school  officers 
and  teachers.  Incompetent  teachers  in  secular  things  cannot 
give  children  the  requisite  instruction. 

The  fact  is,  the  parochial  school  children  are  very  inade- 
quately instructed  in  purely  secular  knowledge,  and  the  children 
j  of  the  public  school  enter  upon  the  duties  of  life  incomparably 
better  informed  and  trained. 

I  have  heard  complaint  after   complaint  from   Catholic 

parents  that  the  parochial  school  did  not  fit  their  children 

for  life ;  that  their  training  lacked  the  virility  necessary  to  meet 

the    multitudinous    demands    upon    American    manhood    and 

womanhood  of  this  aggressive  age;  and  that  the  parochial 

\  school  militated  against  the  development  of  symmetrical  char- 

\cter.     I  can  readily  understand  how  such  ill  effects  should 

result  from  parochial  school  training  received  under  the  prin- 

cipalship  of  a  drunken,  sordid,  or  even  worse,  rector,  and  the 

teaching  of  incompetent  teachers. 

I  have  known  intelligent  Catholic  parents  to  summon  up 
enough  courage  to  remove  their  children  from  the  parochial 
school  and  send  them  to  the  public  school,  notwithstanding 


314  THE  PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

the  threats  of  eternal  damnation  for  themselves  and  for  their 
children  uttered  by  priests  and  prelates.  I  have  in  mind  now 
the  case  of  a  bright  child  who  was  taken  from  the  parochial 
school  by  her  parents  and  sent  to  the  public  school.  In  the 
parochial  school  she  was  in  the  eighth  grade  but  the  public 
school  found  her  only  fit  for  the  fifth  grade. 

My  understanding  is  that  children  who  are  taken  out  of 
the  parochial  school  and  sent  to  the  public  school  are  always 
put  in  a  lower  grade.  Priests  and  prelates  assert  that  they 
are  put  into  the  lower  grade  through  prejudice  and  to  bring 
a  reproach  upon  the  parochial  school.  This  is  a  groundless 
charge  as  any  fair-minded  person  must  feel  when  it  is  remem- 
bered how  many  public  school  officers  and  teachers  are  Cath- 
olics. The  fact  is  that  such  Catholic  children  are  placed  in 
the  public  school  just  where  the  parochial  school  has  fitted 
them  to  be  put. 

IRRELIGIOUS  INSTRUCTION. 

Now  what  are  the  facts  in  reference  to  the  religious  in- 
struction imparted  to  the  pupils  of  the  parochial  school?  It 
must  be  remembered  that  the  necessity  for  daily  indoctrinat- 
ing the  children  with  religious  truth  in  the  school  room  is  the 
supreme  excuse  offered  for  the  existence  of  the  parochial  school. 

I  assert  that  the  children  of  the  parochial  school  receive 
a  religious  training  which  is  simply  hypocritical,  and  instead 
of  being  the  foundation  for  the  holding  of  a  superstructure 
of  religion  and  morality  its  logical  effect  is  the  demoralization 
of  the  child. 

Precept  and  practice  must  go  together  in  religious  in- 
struction or  the  result  cannot  fail  to  be  disastrous  to  the  pupil. 
If  an  officer  or  a  teacher  of  the  parochial  school  teaches  a 
precept  and  then  practices  the  opposite  of  that  precept  I  hold 
that  the  children  are  thereby  trained  for  the  kingdom  of  Satan 
and  not  for  the  Kingdom  of  God.  The  evil  effect  of  such  in- 
consistency in  an  instructor  of  youth  is  destructive  when  the 
offender  is  a  secular  teacher  and  does  not  wear  the  sacred 


PUPILS.  .         315 

vestments  of  religion;  but  when  that  instructor  or  officer  is 
clad  in  a  religious  garb  the  teaching  of  righteousness  and  the 
doing  of  iniquity  simply  mean  moral  and  spiritual  disaster 
to  the  pupils.  Precept  and  practice  are  lamentably  foreign  to 
each  other  in  the  lives  of  the  officers  and  teachers  of  the  paro- 
chial school.  The  religious  training  of  the  parochial  school 
is  worse  than  failure. 

But  in  the  parochial  school  there  is,  alas,  what  amounts 
to  a  positive  teaching  of  irreligion.  When  children  are  de- 
liberately instructed  to  stultify  their  moral  sense  I  assert  that 
irreligion  is  thereby  taught.  Let  us  glance  at  this  irreligious 
teaching.  Parochial  school  children  are  taught  that  priests 
and  prelates  are  holy  or  supernatural  beings.  I  have  known 
this  kind  of  instruction  to  be  imparted  in  parochial  schools: 
"  Children,  if  a  priest  should  tell  you  that  your  hand  is  mar- 
ble, and  an  angel  from  heaven  should  at  the  same  time  tell 
you  that  your  hand  is  flesh,,  you  must  believe  the  priest  and 
disbelieve  the  angel !  "  I  make  bold  to  say  that  the  effect  of 
such  teaching  is  to  stultify  a  child. 

The  children  are  taught  to  attribute  manifest  clerical 
delinquencies  to  a  religious  cause,  and  thus  they  are  led  to 
stultify  themselves  intellectually  and  morally.  A  drunken 
priest  staggered  in  the  presence  of  parochial  school  children, 
and  the  nun  said,  "  O,  the  dear  priest !  He  is  so  weak !  he  has 
been  making  a  novena,  he  has  been  fasting  and  praying  for 
nine  days,  and  he  is  so  weak  that  he  can  hardly  walk."  That 
drunken  priest  was  the  pastor  of  that  parish  and  consequently 
the  principal  of  that  parochial  school.  He  was  constantly  under 
the  influence  of  drink,  and  the  nuns  and  children  knew  it.  In 
fact,  he  at  that  very  time  had  been  an  habitual  drunkard  for 
over  a  quartet  of  a  century,  and  is  to-day.  I  heard  him,  say 
repeatedly :  "  The  education  and  enlightenment  of  the  Cath- 
olic children  will  be  the  ruination  of  the  Church."  In  his  paro- 
chial school  there  are  15  nuns  and  about  1200  pupils. 

Parochial  school  children  have  their  moral  sense  blunted 
by  being  taught  that  God  will  eternally  damn  the  Catholic 


THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

who  exposes  a  bad  priest.  The  children  see  in  this  instruction 
a  scheme  to  cloak  sin,  and  it  leads  them  to  regard  with  horror 
a  God  who  is  in  league  with  bad  priests  to  protect  and  keep 
them  in  power. 

In  a  large  Jesuit  school  a  nun  told  her  class,  "  Children, 
you  may  not  have  heard  that  there  are  bad  priests,  but  when 
you  grow  up  you  will  probably  hear  about  them  and  see  them. 
You  must  pay  no  attention  to  what  you  hear  and  see  about 
them ;  you  must  not  give  it  a  thought,  no  matter  how  bad 
they  may  be,  for  they  are  the  ambassadors  of  Jesus  Christ. 
If  you  hear  about  them  you  must  close  your  ears,  and  if  you 
see  them  you  must  close  your  eyes,  and  you  must  close  your 
mouths ;  you  are  bound  by  the  laws  of  God  to  close  your  ears, 
your  eyes  and  your  mouths.  Never  speak  about  bad  priests; 
if  you  do  something  dreadful  will  surely  happen  to  you." 
Then  she  told  the  children  some  terrible  things  which  she  said 
had  befallen  Catholics  who  had  talked  about  bad  priests. 

CHILDREN  DEMORALIZED. 

Parochial  school  children  are  positively  demoralized  by 
the  use  that  is  made  of  the  parochial  schools  by  the  officers 
and  teachers  in  connection  with  parish  fairs.  In  the  preced- 
ing chapter  I  described  various  kinds  of  church  fair  graft, 
and  promised  to  show  later  the  pernicious  influence  of  church 
fairs  upon  the  parochial  school  children.  I  now  undertake 
to  fulfill  that  promise. 

The  parochial  school  is  the  powerful  auxiliary  of  the 
iniquitous  church  fair.  Its  children  are  compelled  to  do  their 
utmost  to  make  the  church  fair  a  financial  success.  I  have  al- 
ready stated  that  the  parochial  school  principal  gets  all  the 
money. 

Priests  permit  the  desecration  of  their  churches,  for  in 
many  instances  the  fairs  are  held  in  church  basements.  These 
basements  are  a  duplicate  of  the  upstairs  part,  being  furnished 
with  altars,  sanctuary,  baptismal  font,  pews,  and  choir  plat- 
form with  organ.  Funeral  Masses  and  Mass  for  the  children 


PUPILS.  317 

on  Sundays  are  often  said  in  these  basements,  and  the  con- 
fessional boxes  are  located  in  them.  The  basement  is  as  holy 
as  any  other  part  of  the  church.  When  fairs  are  held  in  these 
basements  the  pews  are  removed,  the  choir  platform  is  en- 
larged to  accommodate  musicians  who  furnish  dance  music, 
and  also  to  accommodate  professional  vaudeville  performers 
who  are  hired  by  the  pastor. 

Some  pastors  have  dancing  at  these  fairs  in  the  church; 
others  have  wheels  of  fortune  and  slot  machines;  some  have 
all  these  things;  some  have  part  of  them.  At  some  of  the 
fairs  they  sell  liquor.  They  also  raffle  bottles  of  whiskey — on 
one  occasion  a  little  girl  won  a  bottle  of  whiskey  and  she  and 
her  little  companion  drank  it  and  nearly  died ;  and  at  the  same 
fair  a  little  girl  won  two  bottles  of  whiskey  which  she  took 
home,  and  her  parents  used  it,  got  drunk  and  into  a  fight  and 
the  husband  lost  his  job. 

As  a  rule  these  fairs,  whether  held  in  the  church  basement 
or  not,  have  on  Saturday  nights  special  attractions  to  draw 
the  people  and  they  close  at  one  or  two  o'clock  Sunday  morn- 
ing. Dancing,  slot  machines  and  other  money-making  schemes 
run  till  the  last  minute.  These  slot  machines  are  prohibited 
by  law,  and  saloon  and  other  users  of  them  are  severely  pun- 
ished, but  Catholic  rectors  use  them  with  impunity  at  their 
church  fairs.  The  Catholic  pastors  get  slot  machines  which 
have  actually  been  confiscated  by  the  civil  authorities.  The 
public  should  remember  that  at  Catholic  fairs  all  the  articles 
are  raffled,  chance-books  being  issued  against  each  article  and 
chances  sold  as  widely  as  possible,  the  raffle  taking  place  upon 
the  closing  nights  of  the  fair.  The  fairs  often  last  two,  three  or 
four  weeks. 

Catholic  girls  at  these  church  fairs  are  brought  into  con- 
tact with  the  vicious  and  the  lewd.  They  are  given  chance- 
books  which  contain  numbered  tickets,  each  ticket  entitling 
the  holder  to  one  chance  at  the  drawing  of  some  prize.  These 
girls  are  encouraged  to  make  large  sales  of  these  chance 


THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

tickets,  and  they  go  to  all  sorts  of  persons;  I  myself  have 
seen  them  coming  out  of  disreputable  saloons  with  chance- 
books  in  their  hands  at  a  late  hour  of  the  night.  A  lamentable 
number  of  these  poor  innocent  girls  take  their  first  lesson  in 
harlotry  upon  these  trips  for  the  sale  of  chance  tickets.  It  is 
notorious  that  lustful  men  patronize  these  church  fairs  because 
at  them  they  have  the  opportunity  to  form  the  acquaintance 
of  lovely,  virtuous  Catholic  girls,  whom  they  could  never  meet 
under  other  auspices;  and  it  is  equally  notorious  that  all  over 
the  country,  multitudes  of  these  beautiful  girls  have  been  se- 
duced by  these  men.  As  soon  as  a  man  enters  the  fair  a  lady 
runs  toward  him  begging  him  to  "  take  a  chance !  "  This  in- 
nocent remark  gives  him  a  chance  to  indulge  in  vile  innuendo. 
No  introductions  are  necessary  at  these  church  fairs — in  fact 
an  introduction  would  be  regarde4  as  an  insult.  The  ladies, 
young  and  old,  are  all  on  the  reception  committee.  These 
ladies  are  given  this  license  to  act  in  this  free  and  easy  way 
in  order  to  increase  the  receipts  of  the  fair  "for  the  greater 
honor  and  glory  of  God ! ! !" 

Catholic  boys  are  taught  and  encouraged  to  smoke,  drink 
and  gamble  at  these  fairs.  Priests  and  laymen  at  these  fairs 
in  the  church  smoke  cigars  and  cigarettes.  Tobacco  is  sold 
in  the  church.  The  next  Sunday  these  priests  preach  against 
vice ! ! ! 

The  necessity  of  making  the  fair  a  great  success  is  urged 
upon  the  children  and  the  teachers  on  and  off  the  altar,  and 
in  the  parochial  school  class-room,  during  the  several  weeks 
preceding  the  fair,  and  also  while  it  is  running.  I  know  a 
parochial  school  principal  who  tells  his  children  publicly,  half 
in  jest  and  half  in  earnest,  that  if  their  parents  will  not  give 
them  money  to  spend  at  the  church  fair  matinees  they  are 
privileged  to  steal  it.  Some  of  them  do  not  see  the  jest  and 
act  on  the  earnest. 

The  parochial  school,  as  a  rule,  gives  its  children  two 
half  holidays  to  enable  them  to  attend  the  fair,  although  this 
is  not  necessary  as  the  children  are  there  night  after  night. 


FOR  GOD  AND   HIS  CHURCH! 


32O  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

Some  children  get  at  these  fairs  their  first  lesson  in  em- 
bezzlement. They  spend  the  money  which  they  collect  on  the 
chance-books. 

As  a  rule  "  blind  pigs  "  are  run  at  church  fairs.  Two 
rectors  in  a  prominent  Archdiocese  have  taken  out  licenses 
to  sell  liquor,  which  enables  them  to  sell  with  impunity  in  the 
.school  hall  or  church  basement. 

There  was  a  cheap  vaudeville  at  a  certain  fair  held  in 
a  parish  church.  Two  of  the  actors  seduced  two  of  the  parish 
girls,  and  one  of  them  had  to  be  placed  in  the  convent  of  the 
Good  Shepherd. 

But  this  demoralization  affects  neighborhoods  and  brings 
into  its  vortex  all  the  children  irrespective  of  the  religious 
beliefs  of  their  parents.  This  statement  is  borne  out  by  the 
prevalence  of  "  child  gambling  "  schemes.  About  the  begin- 
ning of  the  spring,  1904,  the  Chicago  press  contained  many 
articles  concerning  "  Child  Gambling."  Various  schemes  were 
being  operated  in  the  vicinity  of  the  schools  to  induce  chil- 
dren to  gamble.  The  municipal  authorities  became  aroused 
to  the  enormity  of  the  evil,  and  the  police  were  instructed 
to  stamp  it  out.  This  "  child  gambling  "  is  but  a  sequence 
of  "  child  gambling  "  at  Catholic  Church  fairs. 

Parochial  schools  are  built  near  the  parochial  residences, 
and  the  children  are  scandalized  by  seeing  liquor  wagons  back 
up  to  the  priest's,  dwelling  and  unload  large  stocks  of  intoxi- 
cating beverages.  Temperance  ladies  have  several  times  been 
on  the  point  of  calling  public  attention  to  this  pernicious  con- 
duct. And,  yet,  the  public  schools  are  "  traps  of  the  Devil ! ! !  " 

Parochial  school  children  may  be  subjected  to  outrageous 
treatment,  there  being  no  set  standards  of  humane  discipline. 
I  know  two  little  motherless  Catholic  girls  who  were  sent  to 
a  parochial  school,  the  father  willingly  paying  the  required 
tuition  fees.  These  little  girls  were  frequently  made  to  do 
janitor  work.  They  were  very  delicate  children,  and  the  work 
made  them  sick.  Their  father  told  them  to  tell  the  nun  who 


PUPILS.  321 

was  their  teacher  that  he  did  not  want  them  to  do  janitor 
work.  The  children  told  the  nun.  Her  answer  was  a  severe 
reprimand.  She  vented  her  wrath  upon  them  by  refusing  to 
permit  them  to  go  to  the  toilet  room  during  school. hours.  Fi- 
nally their  father  threatened  to  blow  up  the  school  if  the  brutal 
treatment  of  his  children  occurred  again.  It  ceased. 

THE  REAL  NEED. 

The  only  excuse  of  apparent  worth  for  the  existence  in 
America  of  the  parochial  school  is  that  it  is  indispensable  for 
the  holding  of  Catholic  children  in  the  faith.  It  is  not  a  paro- 
chial school  education  for  the  children  but  a  godly  training 
in  the  home  that  Catholic  parents  should  be  concerned  about, 
and  also  a  clean  clergy  to  minister  at  the  altar,  the  confessional 
and  other  sacred  places. 

Let  me  ask  the  aged  Catholic  parents,  is  it  not  true  that 
you  saw  better  priests  and  stronger  faith  years  ago  when  there 
were  no  parochial  schools  and  when  religious  instruction  in 
the  home  was  insisted  upon?  I  believe  your  answer  will  be, 
yes.  Many  intelligent  Catholic  parents  who  have  raised  large 
families  have  assured  me  that  this  agrees  with  their  obser- 
vation and  experience. 

Leo  XIII.  once  wrote :  "  The  minds  of  children  are  most 
influenced  by  the  training  they  receive  at  home."  Catholic 
people',  are  you  not  losing  sight  of  this  great  truth?  Is  it  not 
the  tendency  of  the  parochial  school  to  create  in  your  minds 
the  thought  that  it  relieves  you  as  parents  of  the  sacred  duty 
of  training  your  children  for  God  and  society  at  home?  I  am 
confident  that  there  are  Catholic  parents  who  are  making 
the  awful  mistake  of  entertaining  this  false  notion. 

The  Catholic  Church  in  America  needs  for  the  holding 
of  her  children  to  the  faith,  not  the  parochial  school  but  priests 
and  prelates  who  are  men  of  God,  pure  in  heart,  clean  in 
speech,  Christlike  in  action,  and  patriotic  in  conduct.  Such 
priests  will  keep  the  children  faithful  till  death. 


CHAPTER    IX. 


THE    PAROCHIAL    SCHOOL    AND    THE   LOSS    OF    THIRTY 
MILLION  CATHOLICS  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


I  assert  that  the  parochial  school  has  been  a  most  potent 
factor  in  causing  the  loss  of  thirty  millions  of  communicants 
which  the  Catholic  Church  has  sustained  in  America.  I  have 
reliable  Catholic  statistics  which  show  that  the  Catholic  Church 
should  now  number  over  forty  millions  in  this  country,  (ex- 
clusive of  the  Philippine  Islands  and  Porto  Rico),  while  ac- 
cording to  the  Catholic  Directory  for  1904  it  has  but  11,887,- 

317. 

I  am  indebted  to  an  American  Catholic  gentleman  of  the 
highest  literary  ability,  who  has  an  international  reputation, 
and  is  held  in  great  honor  by  the  Church,  for  the  following 
statistical  argument : 

The  Catholic  Directory  of  1902  gives  the  total  of  the 
Catholic  community  in  the  United  States  as  10,976,757.  The 
same  authority  states  the  same  total,  in  1890,  as  8,301,367  souls, 
an  apparent  increase  during  twelve  years,  of  2,675,390.  Un- 
der ordinary  circumstances  this  would  indicate  a  healthy  prog- 
ress. The  increment  for  twelve  years  of  the  Roman  Cath- 
olic Church  in  the  United  States  is  greater  than  the  total 
membership  of  many  important  and  flourishing  sects.  The 
unthinking  Roman  Catholic  lulls  himself  in  the  contempla- 
tion of  this  pleasant  prospect,  and  sees  his  Church  marching 
under  stalwart  leadership  to  the  conversion  of  the  whole  peo- 
ple. 

There  is  another  side.  During  the  period  from  1890  to 
1902,  according  to  available  statistics,  the  immigration  from 
strictly  Catholic  countries  was  2,482,284  persons.  The  coun- 
tries from  which  this  immigration  originated  are  Austria,  Bel- 
gium, France,  Italy,  Austria,  Poland,  Portugal,  Spain  and 


LOSS  OF  THIRTY  MILLIONS.  323 

Ireland.  An  estimate  of  the  German  immigration  of  Roman 
Catholic  Faith  has  been  included,  but  no  account  is  taken  in 
the  figures  quoted  above  of  the  great  Catholic  immigration 
from  Russian  Poland,  nor  of  French  Canadians.  All  statis- 
ticians will  admit  that  the  exclusion  of  the  factors  mentioned 
will  more  than  compensate  for  any  excessive  statement  in- 
volved in  the  inclusion  of  the  total  immigration  from  the 
countries  named  as  Roman  Catholic.  It  must  also  be  noted  that 
the  figures  quoted  from  the  Catholic  Directory  are  complete 
up  to  and  including  the  early  months  of  1902,  while  the  im- 
migration statistics  have  not  been  brought  down  further  than 
June  30,  1901. 

With  this  statement  it  will,  therefore,  be  pertinent  to  restate 
the  facts  in  the  form  of  a  table  so  that  the  situation  may  be 
seen  at  a  glance ; 

10,976,757  Catholic  population  1902 
8,301,367         "  "  1890 


2,675,390  Increment  of  Catholic  Population  in  12  years. 
2,482,284  Immigration   from  strictly  Catholic  countries 
during  same  period. 


193,106  Apparent  increment  by  births,  conversions,  etc., 
during  same  period. 

193,106  divided  by  twelve  years  give  16,092  and  a  fraction 
as  the  annual  natural  increment  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  in  the  United  States  during  that  same  period. 

This  plain  and  straightforward  statement  of  the  situation 
is  startling.  It  shows  that  the  Catholic  Church  in  the  United 
States  is  nourished  by  an  influx  of  new  blood  sufficient  to 
create  a  strong  factor  in  the  body  politic.  An  element  of  pe- 
culiar force  in  estimating  the  influence  of  this  steady  increment 
is  that  the  great  majority  of  the  persons  who  come  to  the 
United  States  marry  and  raise  large  families.  It  is  a  matter 
of  common  repute  that  the  average  number  of  a  Roman  Cath- 
olic family  is  greater  than  among  other  classes  of  the  general 
population.  Why,  then,  is  it  that  the  Catholic  Church  is 
shrinking? 

It  is  frequently  suggested  by  Catholic  ecclesiastics  that 
the  figures  given  in. the  Catholic  Directory  are  not  accurate. 
They  should  be.  The  statistics  are  made  up  from  the  re- 
ports of  the  various  pastors.  It  is  not  probable  that  any  pas- 


THE    PAROCHIAL    SCHOOL. 

tor  would  deliberately  understate  the  number  of  his  flock. 
The  figures  given  in  the  Catholic  Directory  may  be  accepted 
as  £  fair  total. 

Without  further  argument  it  may  be  assumed  that  in- 
stead of  holding  its  own  and  making  inroads  by  conversion 
into  the  membership  of  Protestant  sects  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  in  the  United  States  is  losing  ground.  The  cold  fig- 
ures themselves  are  so  eloquent  that  it  needs  no  elaboration. 
Roman  Catholic  statisticians  who  have  made  a  study  of  the 
question  assert  that  the  membership  of  the  Catholic  Church 
in  the  United  States  should  be  40,000,000.  On  the  face  of 
affairs,  therefore,  some  30,000,000  have  been  sloughed  away 
from  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States.  The 
Jews  and  the  Protestants  can  account  for  their  membership, 
and  they  have  had  a  more  or  less  steady  acquisition  of  mem- 
bership. 

The  loss  from  Roman  Catholicity  has  gone  to  swell  the 
ranks  of  the  atheists,  the  agnostics,  the  careless  and  the  god- 
less generally. 

I  now  quote  from  the  report  of  the  convention  of  the 
American  Federation  of  Catholic  Societies  which  was  held 
in  Detroit,  Michigan,  in  August,  1904,  which  appeared  in  the 
fourth  column  of  the  fifth  page  of  The  Detroit  Evening  News, 
as  follows: 

Bishop  McFaul,  of  Trenton,  N.  J.,  followed  with  an  ad- 
dress on  Catholic  federation.  He  said  the  Catholic  church 
ought  to  number  40,000,000  instead  of  only  12,000,000.  Sta- 
tistics show,  he  said,  that  with  emigrants  and  all  40,000,000 
Catholics  have  entered  the  country,  but  through  lack  of  organ- 
ization they  have  dropped  away  from  the  church. 

This  admission  of  Bishop  McFaul  suggests  three  ques- 
tions : 

1.  How  many  of  the  "  twelve  millions  "  are  entirely  out- 
side the  pale  of  the  Church  at  heart  and  in  practice  ? 

2.  How  many  of  the  "  twelve  millions  "  are  but  nominal 
Catholics? 

3.  How  many  of  the  "  twelve  millions  "  are  Roman  Cath- 
olics in  the  strict  sense? 


LOSS  OF  THIRTY   MILLIONS.  325 

I  venture  the  following  answers.  To  the  first  question 
about  two  millions;  to  the  second  question  about  four  millions; 
and  to  the  third  question  less  than  six  millions. 

In  this  connection  I  quote  the  following  from  The  Cath- 
olic Mirror,  (the  official  organ  of  Cardinal  Gibbons),  issue 
of  September  17,  1904,  p.  7: 

Bishop  McFaul  (in  his  address  to  the  Federation  of  Cath- 
olic. Societies)  referred  to  another  matter  of  serious  impor- 
tance when  he  said  that  "  if  all  the  descendants  of  our  Cath- 
olic forefathers  had  remained  true  to  their  faith  there  would 
be  more  than  40,000,000  Catholics  in  the  United  States  to-day, 
instead  of  15,000,000." 

This  is  a  higher  estimate  of  our  Roman  Catholic  popu- 
lation than  is  warranted  by  official  statistics,  but  it  may  not 
be  excessive.  However  that  may  be,  the  immigration  from 
Roman  Catholic  countries  alone  since  the  foundation  of  the 
republic  must  have  been  as  many,  and  very  much  more  if  their 
children  born  in  this  country  are  included.  A  great  part  of 
these  foreign  Catholics  and  their  descendants  must  have  fallen 
away  from  the  faith,  and  the  Bishop's  estimate  that  if  they 
had  all  remained  loyal  our  present  Catholic  population  would 
be  40,000,000  is  moderate. 

Placing  the  Blame. 

The  Parochial  School  Board  of  Education,  superintend- 
ents, principals  and  teachers,  are  largely  responsible  before 
God  for  the  loss  of  these  thirty  million  Catholics.  The  paro- 
chial school  has  bred  and  is  breeding  apostasy.  No  other  re- 
sult could  happen  in  this  land.  This  is  America  in  the  light 
of  the  twentieth  century  and  not  in  the  darkness  of  medie- 
valism. This  is  America  under  the  sovereignty  of  the  peo- 
ple, with  equality  before  the  law,  a  free  conscience,  a  free 
press,  a  free  school  and  free  speech.  This  is  America  whose 
very  genius  compels  observation,  investigation,  reflection  and 
action,  and  relates  them  to  the  highest  ideals  the  world  has 
ever  known. 

Bigotry  is  blasphemy,  hypocrisy  is  sacrilege,  and  un- Amer- 
icanism is  the  unpardonable  sin  in  the  temple  of  American 
ideals. 


THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

Any  church  in  America  whose  priests  are  bigoted,  hypo- 
critical and  un-American  will  not  only  fail  to  win  adherents 
from  the  ranks  of  the  outsiders,  but  she  will  inevitably  lose  her 
own  people.  In  no  part  of  her  economy  will  disaster  more 
certainly  overtake  her  than  in  that  which  has  to  do  with  the 
training  of  her  young.  The  children's  eyes  may  be  blinded 
with  deception  for  a  time,  but  there  comes  sight  at  last;  and 
then  every  day  of  past  blindness  will  be  an  accentuation  of  the 
resultant  disappointment,  pain,  and  loathing. 

Have  the  Catholic  children  in  the  parochial  school  seen 
bigotry,  hypocrisy  and  un- Americanism  ?  I  say  that  this  ques- 
tion finds  an  affirmative  answer  in  the  appalling  loss  of  thirty 
millions  of  members  to  the  Catholic  Church  in  America. 

In  The  Catholic  Citizen,  published  at  Milwaukee,  Wis- 
consin, in  its  issue  of  December  21,  1901,  appears  an  article 
headed  "  Convent  Education — letter  from  a  Chaplain,"  in  de- 
fence of  the  convent  school.  I  quote  from  this  article  as  fol- 
lows: 

What,  then,  would  seem  to  be  the  reason  for  the  falling 
away  in  faith  of  some  convent-bred  girls,  if  such  be  the  case? 
To  our  mind,  the  causes,  which  might  be  many,  may  be  re- 
duced to  these:  1st,  the  lack  of  virility  in  the  faith  taught; 
2nd,  the  amount.  Doubtless  only  too  often  the  kind  of  faith 
served  up  is  a  species  of  spiritual  sweet-meat  in  the  shape  of 
legendary  lore,  dubious  private  revelations,  spurious  miracles, 
all  of  which  become  identified  with  real  faith.  As  a  conse- 
quence, the  girl,  on  leaving  school,  perceiving  that  much  of 
this  is  utter  idiocy,  might  very  easily  lose  a  firm  grip  on  faith 
simply  because  of  its  previous  identification  with  legend.  Sec- 
ondly, the  amount ;  that  is,  there  might  be  a  disposition  on  part 
of  certain  religious  to  cram  too  much  down  their  pupils  in 
the  over-doing  of  devotions,  sodalities,  etc.,  etc.  As  a  result, 
the  pupil,  when  school  days  are  over,  might,  by  force  of  re- 
bound, fall  into  indifference  even  in  essential  spiritual  duties. 
They  have  been  bred  as  a  religious ;  not  having  a  vocation  for 
such  a  life,  they  must  go  to  the  other  extreme,  because  unpre- 
pared for  the  life  they  must  lead  in  the  world. 


LOSS  OF  THIRTY   MILLIONS.  327 

If  the  instruction  described  by  this  Chaplain  causes  con- 
vent-bred girls  to  fall  away  from  the  faith,  how  much  more 
must  the  conditions  I  have  described  drive  parochial  school 
children  out  of  the  Church? 

Leo  XIII. ,  in  reviewing  his  pontificate,  said :  "  Our  age  ex- 
acts lofty  ideals,  generous  designs,  and  the  exact  observance  of 
the  laws."  (The  Great  Encyclical  Letters  of  Leo  XIIL,  p  579) . 
These  words  are  peculiarly  true  of  the  exactions  of  the  Ameri- 
can people.  There  is  something  in  the  free  atmosphere  of  Ameri- 
ca that  makes  the  people  keen  to  scent  hypocrisy.  Now,  what 
has  been  the  situation  broadcast  through  many  years  ?  Simply 
this :  American  Catholics  have  heard  at  Mass  precepts  falling 
from  the  lips  of  their  priests,  and  after  Mass,  often  on  the  same 
Sunday  or  Holy  Day,  they  have  seen  those  priests  in  a  beastly 
state  of  intoxication,  and  they  have  found  them  indulging  in 
pleasures  and  occupations  at  total  variance  with  their  sacred 
calling.  The  scandalized  Catholics  have  reflected  upon  the 
facts  put  before  them;  on  the  one  hand  they  have  had  the 
priest  and  the  Eucharist,  on  the  other  hand  the  same  priest 
and  worldliness,  and,  sad  to  relate,  they  have  reasoned  that  if 
the  Real  Presence  of  the  Son  of  God  could  not  keep  the  priest 
pure  there  must  be  something- amiss  with  the  doctrine.  They 
have  heard  or  read  the  words  of  St.  Cyril,  or  similar  words, 
"  Christ  abiding  in  us  lulls  to  sleep  the  law  of  the  flesh  which 
rages  in  our  members,"  and  they  have  seen  with  astonishment 
and  sadness,  and  then  disgust  and  disbelief,  that  the  contrary 
was  true.  To  better  put  before  my  readers  the  awful  incentive 
to  atheism  which  clerical  misconduct  engenders,  I  state  now, 
in  the  words  of  Leo  XIIL,  what  the  Eucharist  is  supposed  to 
do  for  the  Catholic  priest : 

The  Eucharist,  according  to  the  testimony  of  the 
Holy  Fathers,  should  be  regarded  as  in  a  manner  a  con- 
tinuation and  extension  of  the  Incarnation.  For  in 
and  by  it  the  substance  of  the  Incarnate  *  Word  is  united 
with  individual  men,  and  the  supreme  Sacrifice  offered  on 
Calvary  is  in  a  wondrous  manner  renewed,  as  was  signified 


328  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

beforehand  by  Malachy  in  the  words:  In  every  place  there 
is  sacrifice,  and  there  is  offered  to  My  name  a  pure  oblation. 
And  this  miracle,  itself  the  very  greatest  of  its  kind,  is 
accompanied  by  innumerable  other  miracles;  for  here  all  the 
laws  of  nature  are  suspended ;  the  whole  substance  of  the  bread 
and  wine  are  changed  into  the  body  and  the  blood ;  the  species 
of  bread  and  wine  are  sustained  by  the  divine  power  without 
the  support  of  any  underlying  substance;  the  body  of  Christ 
is  present  in  many  places  at  the  same  time,  that  is  to  say,  where- 
ever  the  Sacrament  is  consecrated.  .  .  But  that  decay  of  faith 
in  divine  things  of  which  we  have  spoken  is  the  effect  not  only 
of  pride,  but  also  of  moral  corruption.  For  if  it  is  true  that 
a  strict  morality  improves  the  quickness  of  man's  intellectual 
powers,  and  if  on  the  other  hand,  as  the  maxims  of  pagan 
philosophy  and  the  admonitions  of  divine  wisdom  combine  to 
teach  us,  the  keenness  of  the  mind  is  blunted  by  bodily  pleas- 
ures, how  much  more,  in  the  region  of  revealed  truths,  do  these 
same  pleasures  obscure  the  light  of  faith,  or  even,  by  the  just 
judgment  of  God,  entirely  extinguish  it.  For  these  pleasures, 
at  the  present  day,  an  insatiable  appetite  rages,  infecting  all 
classes  as  with  an  infectious  disease,  even  from  tender  years. 
Yet  even  for  so  terrible  an  evil  there  is  a  remedy  close  at  hand 
in  the  divine  Eucharist.  For  in  the  first  place  it  puts  a  check  on 
lust  by  increasing  charity,  according  to  the  words  of  St.  Augus- 
tine, who  says  speaking  of  charity :  "  As  it  grows,  lust  diminish- 
es ;  when  it  reaches  perfection,  lust  is  no  more."  Moreover  the 
most  chaste  flesh  of  Jesus  keeps  down  the  rebellion  of  our  flesh, 
as  St.  Cyril  of  Alexandria  taught,  "  For  Christ  abiding  in  us 
lulls  to  sleep  the  law  of  the  flesh  which  rages  in  our  members." 
Then,  too,  the  special  and  most  pleasant  fruit  of  the  Eucharist 
is  that  which  is  signified  in  the  words  of  the  prophet:  What 
is  the  good  thing  of  Him,  that  is,  of  Christ,  and  what  is  His 
beautiful  thing,  but  the  corn  of  the  elect  and  the  wine  that 
engendereth  virgins,  producing,  in  other  words,  that  flower 
and  fruitage  of  a  strong  and  constant  purpose  of  virginity 
which,  even  in  an  age  enervated  by  luxury,  is  daily  multiplied 
and  spread  abroad  in  the  Catholic  Church,  with  those  advan- 
tages to  religion  and  to  human  society,  wherever  it  is  found, 
which  are  plain  to  see.  (The  Great  Encyclical  Letters  of  Leo 
XIIL,  pp.  524-5250 

At  the  Eucharistic  Congress  held  in  New  York  City  in 
the  latter  part  of  September,  1904,  a  "  tender,  pleading  sermon  " 


LOSS  OF  THIRTY   MILLIONS.  32Q 

was  delivered  by  the  Right  Rev.  Charles  H.  Colton,  Bishop 
of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  his  subject  being  the  Holy  Communion. 
"  With  expressive  eloquence  he  pictured  the  spiritual  benefits 
that  were  the  portion  of  those  devoted  to  this  fundamental  dog- 
ma of  the  Church,  the  real  presence  of  the  living  God  on  the 
altar."  He  said  in  part: 

And  as  holy  communion  is  the  help  we  need  to 
resist  temptation,  even  our  Lord  Himself  has  said  un- 
less we  eat  of  His  body  and  drink  His  blood  we  shall  not  have 
life  in  us,  so  Holy  Church  makes  it  obligatory  on  the  faithful 
to  receive  holy  communion  at  least  once  a  year — and  exhorts 
them  knowing  its  wonderful  effects  to  receive  frequently.  Wit- 
ness her  clergy,  nourished  with  the  precious  body  and  blood 
of  Christ  in  the  daily  mass:  witness  her  religious  receiving 
almost  daily,  and  behold  the  thousands  even  in  the  world  who 
follow  the  same  holy  practice,  and  witness  the  results — men 
and  women  midst  all  this  world's  dangers,  compelled  to  experi- 
ence its  temptations — the  temptations  from  Satan  and  the  cor- 
ruption of  fallen  nature — yet  leading  holy  and  spotless  lives; 
for  holy  communion  is  indeed  for  them  the  bread  of  the  strong, 
the  bread  of  angels,  the  bread  of  life,  and  the  wine  that  maketh 
virgins. — The  Catholic  Union  and  Times,  Buffalo,  N.  Y., 
October  6,  1904,  p.  i. 

Now,  over  against  these  words  of  the  late  Pontiff,  and 
the  deliverance  of  Bishop  Colton,  put  priestly  drunkenness, 
grafting  and  immorality!  What  must  be  the  effect?  I  hold 
that  it  drives  Catholic  people  away  from  their  Church. 

Catholic  people,  who  leave  the  Church,  do  not  join  other 
sects — they  swell  the  ranks  of  the  atheists.  I  assert  again 
that  an  un  priestly  priesthood  is  to  blame  for  the  appalling  loss 
of  Catholic  communicants  in  the  United  States  of  America. 

In  this  connection  I  quote  from  the  utterances  of  the  An- 
gelic Doctor,  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  as  follows: 

Hypocrisy  would  seem  to  be  the  worst  of  all  sins.  For, 
Our  Lord  inveighed  more  forcibly  against  hypocrites,  than 
against  any  other  class  of  sinners.  St.  Gregory  says  (in  Pas- 
toral), "  None  do  more  harm  in  the  Church,  than  sinners  who 


330  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

have  a  reputation  for,  or  appearance  of,  sanctity."     (An  Apol- 
ogy for  the  Religious  Orders,  by  St.  Thomas  Aquinas,  p.  253.) 

The  Holy  Father  is  greatly  concerned  over  the  general 
falling  away  from  the  Catholic  Church,  as  will  be  seen  by  the 
following  excerpt  from  His  first  Encyclical  as  the  same  ap- 
peared in  The  New  York  Freeman's  Journal  and  Catholic 
Register  of  October  17,  1903. 

SOCIETY'S  MALIGNANT  DISEASE — APOSTASY  FROM  GOD. 

Then  again,  to  omit  other  motives,  we  were  terrified 
beyond  all  else  by  the  disastrous  state  of  human  society  to-day. 
For  who  can  fail  to  see  that  society  is  now,  more  than  in  any 
past  age,  suffering  from  a  terrible  and  deep-rooted  malady 
which,  developing  every  day  and  eating  into  its  inmost  being, 
is  dragging  it  to  destruction?  You  understand,  venerable 
brothers,  what  this  disease  is — apostasy  from  God,  than  which 
in  truth  nothing  is  more  allied  with  ruin,  according  to  the  word 
of  the  prophet :  "  For  behold  they  that  go  far  from  Thee  shall 
perish"  (i) — (i,  Ps.  Ixxii.,  17).  We  saw,  therefore,  that, 
in  virtue  of  the  ministry  of  the  Pontificate  which  was  to  be 
intrusted  to  us,  we  must  hasten  to  find  a  remedy  for  this 
great  evil,  considering  as  addressed  to  us  that  divine  command : 
"  Lo,  I  have  set  thee  this  day  over  the  nations  and  over  king- 
doms, to  root  up,  and  to  pull  down,  and  to  waste,  and  to  de- 
stroy, and  to  build,  and  to  plant."  (2) — 2,  Jerem.  1.,  10). 
But,  cognizant  of  our  weakness  we  recoiled  in  terror  from  a 
task  as  urgent  as  it  is  arduous. 

Since,  however,  it  has  been  pleasing  to  the  Divine  Will 
to  raise  our  lowliness  to  such  sublimity  of  power,  we  take 
courage  in  Him  Who  strengthens  us,  and,  setting  ourself  to 
work,  relying  on  the  power  of  God,  we  proclaim  that  we  have 
no  other  programme  in  the  Supreme  Pontificate  but  that  "  of 
restoring  all  things  in  Christ,"  (3) — (3,  Ephes.  i.,  10)  so  that 
"Christ  may  be  all  and  in  all"  (4) — (4.  Coloss.  iii.,  2). 

Some  will  certainly  be  found  who,  measuring  divine  things 
by  human  standards,  will  seek  to  discover  secret  aims  of  ours, 
distorting  them  to  an  earthly  scope  and  to  partisan  designs. 
To  eliminate  all  vain  delusion  for  such  we  say  to  them  with 
emphasis  that  we  do  not  wish  to  be,  and  with  the  divine  as- 
sistance never  shall  be,  aught  before  human  society  but  the 


LOSS  OF  THIRTY  MILLIONS.  331 

minister  of  God,  of  whose  authority  we  are  the  depositary. 
The  interests  of  God  shall  be  our  interests,  and  for  these  we 
are  resolved  to  spend  all  our  strength  and  our  very  life.  Hence 
should  anyone  ask  us  for  a  symbol  as  the  expression  of  our  will, 
we  will  give  this  and  no  other :  "  To  renew  all  things  in  Christ." 

THE  WAR  ON  GOD. 

In  undertaking  this  glorious  task  we  are  greatly  quickened 
by  the  certainty  that  we  shall  have  all  of  you,  venerable  brothers, 
as  generous  co-operators.  Did  we  doubt  it  we  should  have  to 
regard  you,  unjustly,  as  either  unconscious  or  heedless  of  that 
sacrilegious  war  which  is  now,  almost  everywhere,  stirred  up 
and  fomented  against  God.  For  in  truth  "  the  nations  have 
raged  and  the  peoples  imagined  vain  things  "  (5) — (5,  Ps.  ii., 
i)  against  their  Creator,  so  frequent  is  the  cry  of  the  enemies 
of  God:  "  Depart  from  us"  (6) — (6,  Job  xxi.,  14).  And  as 
might  be  expected  we  find  extinguished  among  the  majority 
of  men  all  respect  for  the  Eternal  God,  and  no  regard  paid 
in  the  manifestations  of  public  and  private  life  to  the  Supreme 
Will — nay,  every  effort  and  every  artifice  is  used  to  destroy 
utterly  the  memory  and  the  knowledge  of  God.  .  . 

There  are  not  lacking  among  the  clergy  those  who  adapt 
themselves  according  to  their  bent  to  works  of  more  apparent 
than  real  solidity — but  not  so  numerous,  perhaps,  are  those 
who,  after  the  example  of  Christ,  take  to  themselves  the  words 
of  the  prophet :  "  The  spirit  of  the  Lord  hath  anointed  me, 
hath  sent  me  to  evangelize  the  poor,  to  announce  freedom  to 
the  captive  and  sight  to  the  blind  "  (4) — (4,  Luke  iv.,  18,  19). 
Yet  who  can  fail  to  see,  venerable  brothers,  that  while  men  are 
led  by  reason  and  liberty,  the  principal  way  to  restore  the  em- 
pire of  God  in  their  souls  is  religious  instruction?  How  many 
there  are  who  mimic  Christ  and  abhor  the  Church  and  the  Gos- 
pel more  through  ignorance  than  through  badness  of  mind, 
of  whom  it  may  well  be  said :  "  They  blaspheme  all  that  they  do 
not  know  "  (5) — (5,  Jud.  ii.,  10).  This  is  found  to  be  the  case 
not  only  among  the  people  at  large  and  among  the  lowest 
classes,  who  are  thus  easily  led  astray,  but  even  among  the  more 
cultivated  and  among  those  endowed,  moreover,  with  education 
beyond  the  common.  The  result  is  for  a  great  many  the  loss 
of  the  faith.  For  it  is  not  true  that  the  progress  of  knowl- 
edge extinguishes  the  faith — rather  it  is  ignorance,  and  the 
more  ignorance  prevails  the  greater  is  the  havoc  wrought  by 


332  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

incredulity.     And  this  is  why  Christ  commanded  the  Apostles : 
"Go  teach  all  nations"  (6)— (6,  Matth.  xxviii.,  19). 

I  humbly  trust  that  this  book  will  help  His  Holiness  to 
understand  how  the  parochial  school  is  contributing  to  the  sad 
apostasy  in  America. 

It  is  my  humble  and  profound  conviction,  the  result  of 
many  months  patient  and  careful  reading  of  historical  works 
of  Catholic  writers,  that  the  great  apostasy  in  the  sixteenth 
century  was  chiefly  brought  about  by  clerical  drunkenness, 
grafting  and  immorality — similar  to  that  which  prevails  in 
America  to-day.  I  cite  in  this  connection  Catholic  authorities : 

The  second  work  (of  St.  Ignatius  De  Loyola)  .  .  was  the 
foundation  of  the  Germanic  College.  .  .  The  first  idea  of  such 
an  institution  occurred  to  Cardinal  Morone,  who,  having  resided 
for  many  years  in  Germany  as  Nuncio,  had  seen  the  necessi- 
tous condition  of  that  country,  abandoned  to  the  heresy  of 
Luther,  chiefly  through  the  ignorance  and  immorality  of  the 
clergy.  (History  of  St.  Ignatius  De  Loyola,  Founder  of  the 
Jesuits,  by  Father  Daniel  Bartoli,  A  Jesuit,  Vol.  2,  p.  369.) 

In  a  report  of  the  year  1430  we  read :  "  Greed  reigns  su- 
preme in  the  Roman  Court,  and  day  by  day  finds  new  devices 
and  artifices  for  extorting  money  from  Germany,  under  pretext 
of  ecclesiastical  fees.  Hence  much  outcry,  complaining  and 
heartburnings  among  scholars  and  courtiers;  also  many 
questions  in  regard  to  the  Papacy  will  arise,  or  else  obedience 
will  ultimately  be  entirely  renounced,  to  escape  from  these 
outrageous  exactions  of  the  Italians;  and  the  latter  course 
would  be,  as  I  perceive,  acceptable  to  many  countries."  It 
is  possible  that  certain  statements  in  these  reports  are  to  be 
rejected  or  considered  as  exaggerated,  yet,  on  the  whole,  the 
picture  they  present  must  be  a  true  one,  for  Swiss,  Poles,  and 
even  Italians  of  that  day  have  all  borne  similar  testimony. 
(Dr.  Pastor's  History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  I.  p.  241.) 

In  1584  he  (St.  Francis  De  Sales,  one  of  the  founders 
of  the  Order  of  the  Visitation)  went  to  the  university  of  Padua 
to  study  canon  and  civil  law,  and  completed  his  course  in 
1591  with  great  distinction.  While  there  he  put  himself  under 
the  spiritual  direction  of  Father  Possevin,  a  Jesuit,  who,  be- 


LOSS  OF  THIRTY   MILLIONS.  333 

ing  truly  a  man  of  God,  spoke  to  the  young  student  of  the 
wounds  of  the  Church,  which,  he  said,  were  in  all  cases  trace- 
able to  the  corruption  of  the  clergy.  (Dr.  Alzog's  Manual 
of  Universal  Church  History,  Vol.  III.,  p.  393.) 

It  has  been  frequently  and  justly  remarked  that  the  de- 
generacy of  the  clergy,  and  their  neglect  to  instruct  the  people 
in  their  religious  duties,  thus  bringing  upon  the  latter  innum- 
erable corporal  and  spiritual  evils,  had  prepared  the  way  for  the 
introduction  of  Protestantism.  (Dr.  Alzog's  Manual  of  Uni- 
versal Church  History,  Vol.  III.,  p.  386.) 

Present  conditions  in  the  American  hierarchy  are  similar 
to  those  which  prevailed  at  the  opening  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
Priestly  rottenness  begat  then  a  schism  in  Church  polity  and 
dogma :  priestly  rottenness  is  now  producing  a  schism,  on  one 
side  of  which  stands  the  Church  and  on  the  other  atheism. 

Priestly  rottenness  was  cloaked  in  the  time  of  the  great 
apostasy,  and  the  result  was  Protestantism:  priestly  rotten- 
ness is  being  cloaked  in  our  times  and  the  result  is  atheism. 
Church  dignitaries  attempted,  using  the  forceful  figure  of 
"  the  strong  Archbishop,"  to  "  ram  it  down  the  throats  of  the 
people  that  the  priests  were  all  right."  They  failed  in  the 
sixteenth  century ;  they  are  failing  now ;  and  one  of  the  strong- 
est proofs  of  this  to  my  mind  is  the,  loss  to  the  Church  in 
America  of  thirty  million  adherents. 


CHAPTER   X. 


APAISM. 


HISTORICAL  STATEMENT. 

Apaism  is  a  term  which  has  been  coined  to  designate 
organized  opposition  in  America  to  Catholicism.  Primarily 
it  refers  to  the  American  Protective  Association,  the  initials 
of  which  name  enter  into  it. 

From  time  to  time  there  have  been  fierce  antagonisms 
between  Catholics  and  non-Catholics  in  the  United  States. 
During  and  immediately  following  the  War  of  the  Revolution 
the  Catholic  part  of  the  population  was  infinitesimal,  and  was 
subjected  to  various  annoying  restrictions  by  the  majority. 
But  these  hindrances  were  soon  removed,  and  the  Catholics 
were  invested  with  the  liberties  which  fell  to  the  lot  of  American 
citizens.  In  1838  steam  navigation  across  the  Atlantic  was  es- 
tablished, and  it  gave  a  tremendous  impetus  to  emigration 
from  the  old  world  to  the  new.  This  emigration  had  pre- 
viously been  going  on  in  a  constantly  increasing  ratio ;  but  the 
steamship  made  the  Catholic  Church  in  America  grow  by  leaps 
and  bounds,  and  its  members  entered  actively  into  politics  and 
sought  and  obtained  various  civic  positions.  In  1853  a  new 
political  party  was  formed  to  check  the  influence  of  these  immi- 
grants. It  adopted  as  its  motto  "  America  for  the  Americans." 
The  common. name  of  its  members  was  "Know-Nothings" 
because  they  invariably  answered  when  questioned  by  out- 
siders as  to  their  aims  and  actions,  that  they  knew  nothing. 
No  applicant  for  membership  could  be  admitted  unless  he  and 
his  father  were  native  born  Americans.  It  is  reported  that 
the  salutation  of  its  members  was  the  odd  question,  "  Have 


APAISM.  335 

you  seen  Sam?"  This  party  was  openly  and  notoriously  hos- 
tile to  Catholics,  and  it  increased  rapidly  in  membership.  It 
was  a  secret  oath-bound  organization,  and  nothing  was  told 
to  its  members  of  its  name,  nature  and  objects  until  they 
reached  its  higher  degrees.  It  accepted  the  name  of  the 
American  Party.  It  opposed  the  easy  naturalization  of  for- 
eigners and  sought  to  elect  native-born  citizens  to  office.  Se- 
cret conventions  of  delegates  from  the  various  lodges  made  the 
nominations,  and  members  who  refused  to  vote  for  the  nomi- 
nees were  expelled.  It  decided  many  elections  at  first  by  en- 
dorsing the  nominations  of  one  or  other  of  the  two  great 
parties.  It  became  for  a  time  a  national  party,  being  adopted 
by  many  of  the  Southern  Whigs  after  the  passage  of  the  Kan- 
sas-Nebraska Bill.  In  1855  it  carried  nine  of  the  State 
elections,  and  it  nominated  Presidential  candidates  in  1856. 
At  this  time  the  issues  between  the  North  and  the  South  over 
slavery  and  State  Rights  became  paramount,  and  the  members 
of  the  Know-Nothing  party  were  absorbed  by  the  great  po- 
litical parties  which  were  destined  to  see  those  questions  set- 
tled by  the  arbitrament  of  the  sword.  In  1893-4  the  American 
Protective  Association  was  formed,  and  it  has  been  styled  the 
successor  of  the  Know-Nothing  party.  This  association  is 
familiarly  known  to  Catholics  as  "the  A.  P.  A."  (See  Lar- 
ned's  History  for  Ready  Reference  and  Topical  Reading,  Vol. 
V,  p.  3391 ;  History  of  United  States  by  Bryant  and  Gay,  Vol. 
IV,  p.  416;  and  Ellis'  History  of  United  States,  Vol.  Ill,  pp. 
838,  839.) 

The  American  Protective  Association  adopted  the  follow- 
ing principles  at  the  time  of  its  organization : 

1.  Nationality  is  not  a  bar  to  membership  in  this  order. 
No  man  is  asked  where  he  was  born. 

2.  We  interfere  with  no  man's  partisan  politics. 

3.  We  attack  no  man's  religion  so  long  as  he  does  not 
attempt  to  make  his  religion  an  element  of  political  power. 

4.  We  unite  to  protect  our  country  and  its  free  institutions 
against  the  secret,  intolerant,  and  aggressive  frauds  that  are 


336  THE  PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

persistently  being  set  forth  by  a  certain  religio-political  organ- 
ization to  control  the  government  of  the  United  States  and 
destroy  our  blood-bought  civil  and  religious  liberty. 

5.  We  are  in  favor  of  preserving  constitutional  liberty  and 
maintaining  the  government  of  the  United  States. 

6.  We  regard  all  religio-political  organizations  as  enemies 
of  civil  and  religious  liberty. 

7.  It  is  in  our  opinion  unwise  and  unsafe  to  appoint  or  elect 
to  civil,  political,  or  military  office  in  this  country,  men  who  owe 
supreme  allegiance  to  any  foreign  king,  potentate,  or  ecclesi- 
astical power. 

8.  We  are  in  favor  of  maintaining  the  principles  of  one 
general  unsectarian  free  school  organization  and  will  oppose 
all  attempts  to  supplant  it  by  any  sectarian  institution. 

9.  We  are  opposed  to  all  attempts,  local  or  national,  to 
use  public  funds  for  any  sectarian  purpose. 

10.  We  'are  in  favor  of  laws  taxing  all  church  property 
except  the  church  edifice. 

11.  We  are  in  favor  of  opening  all  private  and  parochial 
schools,  convents,  and  monasteries  to  public  and  official   in- 
spection. 

12.  We  are  in  favor  of  changing  our  immigration  law  in 
such  manner  that  it  will  protect  our  citizen  laborers  from  the 
evil    influence    of    cheap,    pauper,    and  criminal  labor,  which 
through   the    instrumentality    of    European    propagandist   so- 
cieties and  the  subtle  influence  of  priests,  are  rapidly  supplant- 
ing our  free  and  American  citizens  in  every  line  of  industry. 

13.  We  believe  there  should  be  an  educational  qualifi- 
cation to  the  elective  franchise. 

14.  We  are  in  favor  of  putting  into  office  honest  and  true 
patriots  who  are  best  qualified  to  fill  the  position,  regardless 
of  political  principles. — Official  Declaration  of  Principles  of 
the  American  Protective  Association  as  adopted  at  the  meet- 
ing of  the  State  Council  of  Illinois,  which  convened  at  Bloom- 
ing ton,  January  23,  1894. 

The  American  Protective  Association  is  said  to  have  gained 
a  considerable  following  in  many  of  the  States  of  America. 
I  have  been  unable  to-  learn  the  extent  of  its  actual  member- 
ship, but  I  am  led  to  believe,  from  the  information  which  has 
reached  me,  that  its  real  strength  lies  in  the  sympathy  which 


APAISM.  337 

the  great  masses  of  the  American  people  feel  with  it  in  its 
opposition  to  ecclesiastical  political  activity  for  the  aggran- 
dizement of  the  Church  and  the  destruction  of  the  American 
public  school. 

A  CATHOLIC  CANNOT  BECOME  PRESIDENT  OF  THE 
UNITED  STATES. 

It  is  lamentable  that  such  antagonisms  should  have  arisen 
between  Catholic  and  non-Catholic  American  citizens.  Ameri- 
can history  shows  how  deeply  seated  they  have  been  in  the  past, 
and  observation  teaches  that  they  are  still  alive.  Catholics 
are  not  trusted  by  their  non-Catholic  fellow-citizens  in  America. 
Does  any  one  deny  this  assertion  ?  Its  proof  is  sufficiently  dis- 
closed when  attention  is  paid  to  the  Chief  Magistracy  of  this 
Nation.  Non-Catholic  Americans  will  not  vote  for  a  Catholic 
to  be  the  President  or  Vice-President  of  the  United  States. 

This  political  boycott  of  Catholic  Presidential  timber  is 
recognized  by  Catholics.  From  The  Catholic  Union  and  Times 
of  Buffalo,  New  York,  of  June  9th,  1904,  third  column  of  the 
first  page,  I  quote  as  follows : 

It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  to  be  a  Catholic,  or  to  be  con- 
nected by  ties  of  consanguinity  with  members  of  the  Catholic 
Church,  seemingly  keeps  one  from  the  Presidential  chair,  no 
matter  how  deserving  the  candidate  may  be. 

At  the  World's  Parliament  of  Religions,  Chicago,  1893, 
M.  T.  Elder,  a  prominent  Catholic  of  New  Orleans,  Louisiana, 
said  to  the  Catholic  Congress : 

Consider  the  Presidency,  for  instance.  Have  we  ever 
had  a  Catholic  President  ?  Ever  come  near  having  one  ?  Ever 
even  had  a  Catholic  candidate  ?  Ever  likely  to  have  one  ?  O, 
never!  (Barrows'  World's  Parliament  of  Religions,  Vol.  II., 
p.  1414.) 

The  Pilot,  a  Catholic  paper,  published  at  Boston,  Massa- 
chusetts, in  its  issue  of  June  25,  1904,  page  4,  contained  the 
following : 


338  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL, 

The  prejudice  with  the  force  of  a  law,  as  Daniel 
Doherty  phrased  it,  which  bars  out  any  and  every  Catholic  from 
the  nomination  for  President  of  the  United  States,  includes  also 
any  and  every  man  who  has  or  is  suspected  of  having-  a  Catholic 
relative  by  blood  or  marriage.  Some  of  the  Pilot's  readers 
remember  how  bitterly  that  prejudice  was  invoked  against 
Horace  Greeley  because  of  the  known  Catholicity  of  his 
daughter,  and  against  General  Hancock  because  of  the  sup- 
posed Catholicity  of  his  wife, — though  it  turned  out  that  Mrs. 
Hancock  was  simply  a  devout  member  of  the  "  high  Church  " 
element  among  the  Protestant  Episcopalians. 

It  does  not  speak  well  for  the  Catholic  Church  in  America 
to  be  barred  from  the  realization  of  the  laudable  aspiration  to 
have  a  man  of  its  faith  entrusted  with  the  supreme  direction 
of  the  affairs  of  our  Nation.  Americans  have  had  too  many  les- 
sons in  the  possibility  of  a  Vice-President  becoming  President, 
through  the  natural  or  violent  death  of  the  Chief  Magistrate, 
to  favor  the  election  of  a  Catholic  to  the  Vice-Presidency. 

Any  political  party  in  America  which  nominates  a 
Catholic  for  the  Presidency  or  Vice-Presidency  is  -  doomed, 
by  that  act,  to  overwhelming  defeat.  This  ban  upon  Catholics 
is  due  to  the  hostility  of  their  ecclesiastics  toward  American 
principles.  The  Catholic  clergy  liave  locked  the  door  of  the 
White  House  against  the  Catholic  layman.  That  locked  door 
conclusively  shows  the  existence  of  a  deep  antagonism  toward 
the  Catholics  by  the  non-Catholics  in  America. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  CATHOLIC  CHURCH  IN  AMERICA. 

The  Catholic  people  in  America  were  very  thankful  for 
the  benefits  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  the  Con- 
stitution. The  illustrious  American  historian,  Mr.  Bancroft, 
says  that  Catholics  were  eligible  to  office  at  first  in  only  eight 
or  nine  of  the  .early  states ;  then  he  tells  of  the  removal  of  the 
disability ;  and  then  he  says : 

The  separation  of  the  church  and  the  state  by  the  estab- 
lishment of  religious  equality  was  followed  by  the  wonderful 


APAISM.  339 

result  that  it  was  approved  of  everywhere,  always,  and  by 
all...  The  Roman  Catholic  eagerly  accepted  in  Amer* 
ica  his  place  as  an  equal  with  Protestants,  and  found  content- 
ment and  hope  in  his  new  relations. — (History  of  the  United 
States,  by  George  Bancroft,  Vol.  V.,  p.  123.) 

Mr.  M.  H.  Carroll  (who  was  in  charge  of  the  division  of 
churches,  Eleventh  Census),  in  his  book  entitled,  "The  Re- 
ligious Forces  of  the  United  States  "  (American  Church  His- 
tory Series,  Scribner,  N.  Y.,  1893,  Vol.  I.,  introduction,  p. 
Iviii),  speaking  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  in  America  in 
the  colonial  days,  says: 

There  were  in  1784  hardly  30,000  Catholics,  two-thirds 
of  whom  were  in  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania,  the  rest  being 
widely  scattered. 

When  the  Declaration  of  Independence  was  promulgated 
the  population  of  the  colonies  was  about  two  and  one-half  mil- 
lion souls.  (See  tables  in  Bancroft's  History  U.  S.,  Vol.  II., 
p.  390).  There  were  thirty  thousand  Catholics,  and  about 
two  million  non-Catholic  white  people. 

llie  following  epitome  of  the  progress  of  the  Catholic 
Church  in  America  I  take  from  an  address  in  The  Notre  Dame 
Scholastic,  (Vol.  XXXVII,  No.  36,  Commencement  1904),  en- 
titled, "  Some  Thoughts  for  American  Catholics,"  by  Hon. 
Chas.  A.  Bonaparte : 

On  November  6,  1789,  a  Bull  of  Pope  Pius  VI.  founded  the 
American  hierarchy.  At  that  date  the  Catholic  population  of 
the  United  States  was  estimated,  probably  too  -liberally,  at 
forty  thousand,  or  about  the  one-hundredth  part  of  our  entire 
people.  There  were  in  all  some  thirty  priests ;  hardly  so  many 
chapels ;  no  edifice  which  could,  with  any  propriety  of  language, 
be  called  a  church ;  not  one  asylum  or  hospital  or  other  benevo- 
lent institution,  and  but  a  single  school  or  seat  of  learning  of 
any  class, — Georgetown  College  then  just  founded.  When, 
one  hundred  years  later,  the  American  Catholic  Congress  met 
at  Baltimore  its  members  represented  a  Catholic  population 
,of  probably  more  than  eight  millions,  constituting  between 


34O  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

one-eighth  and  one-seventh  of  the  whole  nation.  The  Church 
was  ruled  by  thirteen  archbishops  and  seventy-one  bishops; 
commanded  the  services  of  over  eight  thousand  priests ;  pos- 
sessed some  ten  thousand  five  hundred  places  of  public  worship, 
five  hundred  and  twenty  hospitals  and  asylums,  twenty-seven 
seminaries  for  the  education  of  the  clergy  exclusively,  six  hun- 
dred and  fifty  colleges  and  academies,  and,  most  significant 
of  all,  for  those  who  hope  or  fear  much  from  "  the  corroding 
action  "  of  "  free  public  education  under  Protestant  auspices," 
more  than  thirty-one  hundred  parish  schools,  with,  at  a  low 
estimate,  three-quarters  of  a  million  of  pupils. 

In  the  fifteen  years  since  that  Congress  was  held  the 
Church's  progress  has  been  even  more  rapid.  Without  speak- 
ing of  Porto  Rico  or  the  Philippines,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  there 
are  now  in  the  American  Union  several  times  as  many  Catholic 
bishops  as  there  were  priests  when  our  Constitution  was  adopt- 
ed; fully  as  many  priests  as  there  were  then  adult  male  lay- 
men ;  more  churches  than  there  were  Catholic  families  in  the 
thirteen  States ;  convents  and  monasteries,  schools  and  colleges, 
asylums  and  hospitals,  of  wlych  the  combined  means  of  the  en- 
tire Catholic  population  of  those  days  could  not  have  built  a 
tenth.  It  is  true  that  since  the  adoption  of  our  Constitution 
the  growth  of  this  country  has  been  marvelous,  but  the  growth 
of  the  Catholic  Church  in  this  country  has  been  far  more  mar- 
velous; while  the  number  of  American  citizens  has  increased 
perhaps  twentyfold,  the  number  of  American  Catholics  has 
increased  much  more  than  three-hundredfold.  .  .  Surely  the 
mustard  seed  planted  on  these  shores  a  hundred  and  fifteen 
years  ago  fell  on  no  ungrateful  soil;  of  this  fact  no  better 
proof  can  be  given  or  reasonably  asked  than  Time  has  fur- 
nished in  the  stately  tree  with  its  deep  roots  and  widespread- 
ing  branches  which  has  grown  from  that  seed. 

The  Holy  See  has  not  been  blind  to  the  progress  of  the 
Catholic  Church  in  America  under  the  conditions  which  have 
prevailed  concerning  the  separation  of  State  and  Church.  I 
quote  from  the  Encyclical  of  Leo  XIIL,  entitled  "  Congratu- 
lations to  the  American  Hierarchy,"  addressed  to  Cardinal 
Gibbons  and  the  American  bishops,  and  dated  April  15,  1902: 

And  Our  daily  experience  obliges  Us  to  confess  that  We 
have  found  your  people,  through  your  influence,  endowed  with 


APAISM.  341 

perfect  docility  of  mind  and  alacrity  of  disposition.  There- 
fore, while  the  changes  and  tendency  of  nearly  all  the  nations 
which  were  Catholic  for  many  centuries  give  cause  for  sorrow, 
the  state  of  your  churches,  in  their  flourishing  youthfulness, 
cheers  Our  heart  and  fills  it  with  delight.  True,  you  are 
shown  no  special  favor  by  the  law  of  the  land,  but  on  the  other 
hand  your  lawgivers  are  certainly  entitled  to  praise  for  the 
fact  that  they  do  nothing  to  restrain  you  in  your  just  liberty. 
You  must,  therefore,  and  with  you  the  Catholic  host  behind, 
make  strenuous  use  of  the  favorable  time  for  action  which  is 
now  at  your  disposal  by  spreading  abroad  as  far  as  possible 
the  light  of  truth  against  the  errors  and  absurd  imaginings 
of  the  sects  that  are  springing  up.  (The  Great  Encyclical  Let- 
ters of  Leo  XIII.,  pp.  514-515.) 

Catholic  blood  has  been  poured  out  in  behalf  of  this 
glorious  Republic.  In  the  dark  days  of  the  Revolution  the 
Catholic  people,  who  were  but  a  handful,  were  loyal  to  the 
ideals  of  independence;  on  the  hard- fought  battle  fields  of 
liberty  they  stood  shoulder  to  shoulder  with  their  fellow 
countrymen  of  varying  creeds;  and  their  commingled  blood 
is  typified  in  the  fadeless  red  of  Old  Glory.  In  the  war  with 
England  in  1812  the  Catholic  citizens  were  loyal  and  self-sac- 
rificing. In  the  war  with  Mexico  they  splendidly  championed 
their  country's  cause.  In  the  titanic  Civil  War,  when  brother 
was  arrayed  against  brother,  the  Catholic  people  were  divided, 
as  were  all  other  sectaries,  but  the  Catholics  of  the  North- 
land went  to  the  front  in  multitudes  to  prevent  the  tearing  of  a 
single  star  from  their  country's  flag.  If  I  read  American  his- 
tory understandingly,  out  of  Gettysburg  and  Vicksburg  came 
the  final,  though  delayed,  success  of  the  Union  arms.  The 
former  battle  was  won  under  General  Meade,  a  Catholic;  the 
latter  under  General  Grant,  a  Protestant.  In  the  late  war  with 
Spain  the  American  victories  on  land  and  sea  were  achieved  by 
military  and  naval  forces  which  were  largely  composed  of  loyal 
Catholic  citizens.  The  heroism  of  the  Catholics  at  the  front 
has  been  but  the  expression  of  the  general  Catholic  loyalty 
to  American  institutions.  If  Catholic  and  non-Catholic 


342  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

Americans  can  camp  together  and  march  together  and  fight  to- 
gether and  die  together  in  behalf  of  their  Government,  why 
should  they  not  live  together  in  perfect  amity  and  mutual  con- 
fidence in  times  of  peace? 

There  would  be  no  friction  in  America  between  Catholics 
and  non-Catholics  if  Catholic  priests,  prelates  and  princes  of 
the  church  would  not  attack  Americanisms,  and  if  they  would 
not  attempt  to  persuade  the  Catholic  people  to  pursue  policies 
and  to  champion  causes  at  variance  with  American  principles 
and  ideals.  Let  us  consider  some  of  the  things  which  cause 
this  lamentable  Apaism. 

THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL  THE   CHIEF  CAUSE. 

The  parochial  school  is  now  the  chief  source  of  irritation. 
The  American  people  are  wedded  to  the  public  school,  and 
any  assault  upon  it  arouses  their  wrath.  I  take  it  for  granted 
that  I  need  not  now  dwell  at  length  upon  this  phase  of  the  sub- 
ject since  I  so  fully  discuss  it  in  other  chapters  of  this  book. 

I  have  been  asked  many  times  this  question :  "  What  is 
the  likelihood  of  bloodshed  during  this  public  school  con- 
troversy ? "  My  answer  is  that  it  depends  solely  upon  the 
initiative  of  the  enemies  of  the  public  school.  If  they  take  the 
ballot  as  their  weapon  they  will  perish  by  the  ballot ;  if  they 
take  the  sword  they  will  perish  by  the  sword.  When  the 
American  people  are  forced  to  front  an  issue  they  face  it  with 
the  ballot  or  the  bullet,  just  as  the  exigency  dictates. 

Americans  will  no  more  permit  the  disintegration  of  the 
American  public  school  in  the  Twentieth  Century  than  they  did 
the  dissolution  of  the  American  Union  in  the  Nineteenth. 

Catholic  clerical  agitation,  vituperation  and  un-American- 
ism  will  produce  an  overwhelming  demand  that  the  State  alone 
shall  educate  American  children.  The  State  will  awaken  to 
the  fact  that  it  has  duties  to  itself,  and  it  will  decree  that  the 
rising  generations  of  its  children  shall  receive  such  instruction 


APAISM.  343 

and  be  surrounded  by  such  influences  as  shall  make  them  in- 
tensely American. 

Coupled  with  the  demand  for  the  annihilation  of  the  pa- 
rochial school  will  be  another  for  the  exclusion  of  the  Jesuits 
from  America.  The  Jesuits  are  not  strangers  to  expatriation. 
They  have  been  banished  from  many  countries,  and  they  were 
suppressed  by  the  Papacy.  In  America  they  have  been  given 
an  asylum.  They  are  not  idle  here.  They  are  fostering  and 
directing  Catholic  opposition  to  the  American  public  school. 
They  would  better  serve  the  interests  of  their  Order  and  of 
their  Church,  by  holding  aloof  from  any  attack  upon  this  re- 
vered institution  of  the  land  whose  hospitable  shores  they  were 
glad  to  reach.  They  will  find  out  by  a  bitter  experience  that 
this  Republic  knows,  too,  how  to  avenge  any  outrage  upon  its 
hospitality. 

THE  FEDERATION  OF  CATHOLIC  SOCIETIES. 

Many  of  the  Catholic  societies  in  America  have  entered 
into  a  federation,  and  efforts  are  being  made  to  induce  the 
others  to  join  it.  Nothing  more  irritating  to  non-Catholics 
in  America  has  ever  happened  than  the  publicity  given  to  the 
Federation  of  Catholic  Societies,  and  the  efforts  of  certain 
Archbishops  and  Bishops  to  have  it  assume  a  hostile  attitude 
toward  the  public  school  and  other  American  ideals. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  my  readers  to  see  how  some  lead- 
ing Catholics  feel  on  this  matter.  The  Catholic  Citizen,  pub- 
lished at  Milwaukee,  Wisconsin,  July  2,  1904,  has  on  its  front 
page  the  following: 

CATHOLIC  FEDERATION. 

SOME  VIEWS  REGARDING  IT.     TREND  OF  SENTIMENT  is  "  BE 
CAREFUL."    DANGER  IN  IT. 

Herewith  are  given  the  views  of  a  number  of  leading  Cath- 
olics— in  the  business  and  professional  world — on  the  much 
discussed  question  of  Catholic  Federation.  As  a  reading  will 


344  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

show,  their  trend  of  sentiment  is  against  the  Federation  as 
an  ill-advised  movement. 

From  the"  views  "  given  in  this  article  I  give  the  following 
excerpts : 

John  T.  Kelly. 

Your  request  for  an  expression  of  opinion  from  me  as 
to  the  advisability  of  Catholic  Federation  comes  to  me  too  late 
to  fully  treat  for  this  week's  issue.  I  may  say  in  brief,  how- 
ever, that  I  am  not  convinced  that  it  is  a  good  move  or  that  it 
is  along  the  right  lines.  The  only  feature  that  I  can  see  to 
warrant  its  consideration  is  the  fact  that  a  number  of  learned 
and  earnest  men  advocate  it  and  work  persistently  to  establish 
it.  There  is  in  my  judgment  no  field  in  which  it  can  exercise 
any  effective  function  outside  of  a  political  one.  A  Catholic 
political  party  or  a  Protestant  political  party  or  a  Socialist 
political  party  has  no  place  in  this  country. 

John  Toohey. 

Without  impugning  the  good  intentions  of  those  who  may 
believe  otherwise,  I  am  utterly  opposed  to  the  taking  of  any 
steps  in-  this  country  that  will  have  a  tendency  to  arraign  the 
different  denominations  against  each  other  in  governmental 
affairs.  I  firmly  believe  that  the  confederation  of  all  Catholic 
societies  into  one  grand  body  as  proposed,  would  be  one  of 
the  gravest  mistakes  that  the  Catholics  of  this  country  ever 
made.  It  would  be  a  step  backwards.  One  that  would  do  the 
Church  more  harm  than  good.  It  naturally  would  beget 
countersectarian  political  action.  It  is  only  natural  to  expect 
such  a  result.  It  would  tend  to  breed  ill-feeling  between 
citizens  who  have  a  common  interest  in  political  affairs.  Such 
an  organization  would  resemble  to  my  mind  a  standing  army 
waiting  for  war — ready  for  action.  An  excellent  irritant  to 
arouse  religious  prejudice. 

John  F.  Donovan. 

If  the  purpose  of  the  Federation  is  as  was  outlined  in  the 
newspapers  the  day  after  the  last  meeting  at  St.  Mary's  school 
hall,  I  am  absolutely  opposed  to  it.  I  can  see  no  reason  for 
any  organization  of  that  kind  in  America.  Catholics  have  no 


APAISM.  345 

complaint  to  make  as  to  their  treatment  by  legislatures  or  by 
citizens  generally.  On  the  contrary,  I  believe  that  we  are 
receiving  all  that  we  can  decently  expect  or  demand.  We  have 
the  same  benefit  of  the  laws  as  our  neighbors  of  other  denom- 
inations ;  the  same  rights  are  guaranteed  to  us .  under  the 
Constitution  as  are  guaranteed  to  our  neighbors  of  other  de- 
nominations and  the  courts  are  always  swift  to  enforce  these 
rights.  The  day  has  gone  by,  if  it  ever  existed  in  this  country, 
when  a  clerical  party  was  necessary.  We  stand  upon  the  same 
footing  as  all  loyal  American  citizens  stand.  We  expect  no 
less  than  others  receive ;  we  have  no  right  to  demand  more. 
It  seems  to  me  that  the  Federation  so  called  is  an  egregious 
blunder  and  can  do  naught  but  harm  to  the  Catholics  of  this 
country.  It  is  uncalled  for,  unnecessary,  unwise  and  un-Ameri- 
can. 

/.  H.  Kopmeier. 

I  am  opposed  to  the  Catholic  Federation  movement  and 
believe  it  is  a  serious  mistake.  While  I  know  the  motives  and 
purposes  of  its  organizers  are  praiseworthy  and  commendable, 
I  am  convinced  that  the  Federation  movement  will  stir  up  feel- 
ing and  latent  bigotry,  defeat  its  own  purposes,  and  injure 
Catholics  individually  and  collectively.  A  Catholic  movement 
of  this  nature  will  beget  a  counter  movement  which  will  do 
us  irretrievable  injury.  Furthermore,  I  do  not  think  the  Fed- 
eration of  Catholic  societies  is  capable  of  accomplishment  under 
the  conditions  existing  in  this  country. 

C.  M.  Scanlan. 

The  non-Catholics  consider  the  Federation  as  of  the  same 
nature  as  the  A.  P.  A's.  In  some  respects  it  is  similar,  and 
in  so  far  as  it  interferes  in  politics,  attacks  American  institutions 
and  abuses  Catholics  (including  bishops  and  priests),  it  is 
doing  the  work  of  the  A.  P.  A's.  At  the  launching  of  the 
movement,  Bishop  McFaul  advocated  that  it  be  a  factor  in 
politics,  and  from  that  time  down  to  its  last  meeting  it  has  been 
dabbling  in  politics.  Its  conventions  uttered  loud  protests 
against  phantom  wrongs  and  passed  resolutions  that  have 
served  no  other  purpose  than  to  record  its  blunders  and  bring 
reproach  upon  the  Church. 


346  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

August  Rebhan. 

I  am  opposed  to  the  Catholic  Federation.  I  think  the 
movement  ill  advised,  unnecessary  and  liable  to  work  in- 
jury to  the  Church  and  Catholics  individually.  Some  of  its 
purposes,  some  of  the  alleged  evils  it  proposes  to  remedy  are 
political  or  semi-political  in  their  nature.  Its  efforts  in  this 
direction  will  inevitably  drag  the  Federation  into  politics. 
Once  get  the  united  Catholic  societies  in  the  field  of  politics 
and  the  result  will  be  a  defeat  of  their  very  aims  and  a  counter 
movement  arousing  all  the  latent  prejudice  in  the  country — 
a  result,  which  we  will  live  to  deeply  regret. 

I  regret  that  space  forbids  the  insertion  of  the  views  of 
these  gentlemen  in  full.  They  are  representative  Catholics  as 
will  be  seen  by  the  following  taken  from  the  close  of  the  article 
in  question: 

Of  the  above,  Mr.  John  T.  Kelly  is  state  president  of  the 
A.  O.  H.,  Mr.  C.  M.  Scanlan  is  president  of  Gesu  branch, 
Catholic  Knights  of  Wisconsin,  Mr.  August  Rebhan,  Grand 
Knight  of  Pere  Marquette  Council,  Knights  of  Columbus. 
Messrs.  John  F.  Kopmeier,  John  Toohey  and  John  F.  Donovan 
are  prominent  in  Catholic  social,  business  or  professional  circles. 

The  fact  is  that  priests  and  prelates  hope  to  establish  in 
the  United  States  a  Catholic  party  modeled  after  the  Center 
party  in  the  German  Reichstag,  and  to  make  the  Catholic  so- 
cieties the  nucleus  of  such  a  party.  The  need  of  a  Catholic 
Center  party  in  the  United  States  has  been  a  frequent  editorial 
topic  in  a  number  of  the  German  Catholic  papers.  They  think 
they  can  work  it  out  in  this  way :  Set  afoot  a  movement  for  a 
division  of  the  school  fund.  That  movement  to  mean  anything 
must  exert  itself  in  securing  pledges  from  candidates  for  the 
legislature.  Neither  Republican  nor  Democratic  candidates 
will  give  such  pledges.  Therefore,  if  Catholics  are  in  earnest 
they  must  put  up  candidates  of  their  own.  The  evolution  is 
easy  and  natural — they  become  a  third  party,  a  Catholic  Center 
party  in  American  politics. 


APAISM.  347 

Priests  and  prelates  have  a  practical  scheme  on  foot  to 
capture  America.  They  are  aiming  to  control  the  large 
American  cities,  into  which  the  Catholic  people  are  crowding. 
In  these  cities  the  Catholic  voters  are  induced  to  join  Catholic, 
societies,  and  consequently  are  reachable  for  united  political 
action,  and  they  are  more  and  more  voting  in  line  with  the  be- 
hests of  their  organization  leaders. 

In  this  connection  I  quote  .from  a  speech  of  Archbishop 
Quigley,  delivered  May  4,  1903,  at  the  Holy  Name  parish 
school  Chicago: 

The  Chicago  Tribune,  May  5,  1903. 

The  people  of  the  east  do  not  know  of  the  importance 
of  Chicago  in  the  west.  The  Catholics  know  that  Chicago 
is  one  of  the  great  Catholic  centers  of  the  world.  In  fifty 
years  Chicago  will  be  exclusively  Catholic.  The  same  may  be 
said  of  greater  New  York  and  the  chain  of  big  cities  stretch- 
ing across  the  continent  to  San  Francisco. 

It  has  never  forced  itself  on  me — this  conviction — as  it 
has  since  I  have  been  in  Chicago.  I  am  simply  overcome  by  it. 
I  am  not  telling  you  this  to  flatter  you.  I  mean  w.hat  I  say. 
When  I  see  what  is  going  on  I  am  more  than  pleased.  Noth- 
ing can  stand  against  the  church.  I'd  like  to  see  the  politician 
who  would  try  to  rule  against  the  Church  in  Chicago.  His 
reign  would  be  short  indeed. 

I  predict  that  if  this  course  is  pursued,  and  the  American 
people  awake  to  the  fact  that  their  cities  are  being  controlled 
by  Catholics  as  the  result  of  united  Catholic  political  activ- 
ities there  will  be  a  revolution  in  the  United  States.  The  same 
result  would  occur  if  the  Mormons  or  Methodists  or  Baptists 
or  any  other  sect  wielded  power  in  the  same  way. 

In  this  connection  I  quote  the  words  of  the  Hon.  John 
F.  Finerty,  (chief  editor  of  The  Chicago  Citizen),  a  distin- 
guished Catholic  citizen  of  the  United  States.  In  an  editorial 
entitled,  "  We  must  respect  American  Institutions,"  he  said : 


348  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

The  Chicago  Citizen,  December  26,  1903. 

In  brief,  then,  we  say  to  all  whom  it  may  concern:  Let 
American  institutions  severely  alone,  and  do  not  kindle  the 
flames  of  a  bigot  hell  in  this  grand  country  by  seeking  after 
the  unattainable.  Always  bear  in  mind,  that  the  vast  majority 
of  the  American  people,  of  all  creeds,  will  stand  by  their  coun- 
try, her  constitution,  her  laws  and  her  institutions.  Any  in- 
vasion of  either,  by  any  outside  or  inside  force  whatever,  will 
mean — WAR !  What  man,  what  set  of  men,  would  be  fatuous 
enough  to  bring  such  a  curse  upon  the  land  ? 

The  American  people  will  never  submit  to  be  dominated 
by  the  hierarchy,  or  united  laity,  of  any  sect  on  earth.  The 
denomination  that  favors  and  abets  its  own  political  ascendency 
in  America  thereby  digs  its  own  grave. 

Catholic  people  are  deceived  by  the  specious  claims  of 
fancied  strength  by  means  of  Catholic  organization.  They 
should  remember  that  non-Catholic  Americans  have  a  genius 
for  organization,  and  that  all  they  need  is  a  sufficient  motive. 
Let  some  mighty  principle  of  our  Government  be  seriously 
attacked  by  the  Catholic  citizenship  and  the  non-Catholic 
people  will  rally  to  its  defence  with  alacrity,  tenacity  and 
crushing  power.  The  American  people  are  intelligent.  Their 
intelligence  is  filled  full  of  latent  organization  with  irre- 
sistible dormant  power.  Give  that  intelligence  a  rallying  point 
and  the  latent  will  speedily  turn  into  the  patent  and  the  dormant 
into  the  active.  My  perusal  of  the  history  of  my  adopted 
country  has  taught  me  these  great  truths.  I  wish  the  Catho- 
lic people  would  carefully  read  that  history  and  ponder  it  well. 
Let  the  non-Catholic  people  of  America  be  aroused  by  the 
Catholics  upon  the  school  question  or  any  other  Americanism 
and  they  will  settle  it.  The  Catholic  people  will  not  be  so  much 
as  considered. 

Are  Catholics  the  only  citizens  in  this  country  who  be- 
long to  secret  societies?  If  my  information  is  correct  there 
are  many  non-Catholic  secret  orders  in  America.  I  have  a 


APAISM.  349 

suspicion  that  the  Masonic  order  alone  can  muster  more  men 
than  the  combined  Catholic  orders.  Are  not  the  Knights 
Templar  well  drilled  in  the  manual  of  arms?  Are  not  the 
Odd  Fellows  strong  in  America?  Are  there  no  Knights  of 
Pythias  in  this  country? 

How  incomprehensible  it  is  that  it  did  not  occur  to  the 
leaders  in  this  federation  movement  that  the  widely  heralded 
fact  of  the  federating  of  their  societies  for  political  action  would 
be  but  a  suggestion  for  a  like  movement  on  the  part  of  Protes- 
tants, who  greatly  outnumber  the  Catholics  in  America.  It 
would  be  but  child's  play  for  the  Baptists  to  organize  their 
men  into  a  Baptist  Men's  Society,  for  the  Presbyterians  to 
organize  their  men  into  a  Presbyterian  Men's  Society,  for  the 
Congregationalists  to  organize  their  men  into  a  Congre- 
gational Men's  Society,  for  the  Methodists  to  organize  their 
men  into  a  Methodist  Men's  Society,  and  so  on  with  the  other 
Protestant  bodies.  They  already  have  the  ecclesiastical  and 
other  bases  for  organization  in  "  districts,"  "  synods,"  "  ses- 
sions," "  conferences,"  etc.  Delegates  from  each  could  form 
a  central  body,  and  then  on  any  vitally  patriotic  question  the 
entire  Protestant  population  of  the  United  States,  which  out- 
numbers the  Catholic,  could  speak  with  one  voice,  compel 
a  hearing  and  force  an  acquiescence.  I  am  of  the  profound 
conviction  that  any  serious  attitude  of  hostility  to  the  American 
public  school,  or  any  other  fundamental  Americanism,  by 
the  Federation  of  Catholic  Societies  will  result  in  the  organiza- 
tion and  federation  of  non-Catholic  secular  and  religious 
societies  to  oppose  such  Catholic  anti-Americanism.  To  show 
that  such  an  anti-Catholic  federation  is  being  discussed  by 
non-Catholics  I  quote  the  following  from  an  editorial  on  the 
school  question  by  Rev.  James  M.  Buckley,  D.  D.,  editor  of 
The  Christian  Advocate,  published  in  New  York,  October  21, 
1903: 

It  might  as  well  be  understood  by  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  that,  if  it  really  raises  this  issue,  the  Protestant  churches 


35O  THE   PAROCHIAL    SCHOOL. 

of  this  country  will  ally  themselves  at  the  polls  with  Jews 
and  with  agnostics — that  is,  with  all  classes  opposed  to  denom- 
inationalizing  the  public  schools  or  appropriating  public  money 
to  the  support  of  denominational  schools. 

Conservative  men  who  have  never  joined  in  indiscrim- 
inating  hue  and  cry  against  the  Catholic  church,  would  con- 
tend to  the  last  at  the  polls  and  elsewhere  to  preserve  the  public 
schools  intact.  Politicians  who  care  for  the  integrity  of  their 
parties  will  do  well  not  to  mingle  in  this  discussion,  for  if  the 
public  schools  are  disturbed,  a  wave  which  will  remand  them 
to  obscurity  will  certainly  rise. 

Dr.  Buckley  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  leading  Protestant 
editors  of  America,  and  he  is  referred  to  in  an  editorial  in 
The  New  World,  the  organ  of  the  Chicago  Archdiocese,  in 
the  issue  of  December  19,  1903,  in  these  words :  "  Rev.  Dr. 
James  M.  Buckley,  the  famous  editor  of  the  Methodist 
Christian  Advocate." 

While  I  am  deeply  impressed  with  the  views  which  I  have 
advanced  in  regard  to  the  effect  upon  the  general  American 
public  of  the  widely  heralded  fact  of  the  amalgamation  of  Cath- 
olic societies,  and  its  political  objects,  still  I  feel  that  I  should 
call  attention  to  what  may  be  an  ultimate  Providential  use  of 
this  Federation.  It  represents  an  organized  Catholic  laity. 
When  it  learns  the  full  story  of  clerical  graft  and  corruption 
it  is  bound  to  act,  and  when  it  acts  clerical  rascality  will  be 
stopped  and  the  death-knell  of  ecclesiastical  despotism  will  be 
sounded.  If  it  once  starts  in  no  one  can  tell  where  its  work  of 
reform  will  end. 

TEMPORAL  POWER. 

Catholic  societies  pass  resolutions  favoring  the  restoration 
of  the  Temporal  Power  of  the  Pope.  The  non-Catholic  peo- 
ple of  America  believe  that  such  power  is  antagonistic  to 
free  institutions.  They  see  in  it  something  which  does  not 
comport  with  the  spirit  of  the  age.  They  say  that  in  its  narrow 
meaning  the  Temporal  Power  of  the  Papacy  is  limited  to  the 
recovery  of  Rome  and  the  States  of  the  Church  in  Italy;  but, 


APAISM.  351 

they  ask,  what  would  be  the  natural  results  in  Italy  of  such  a 
recovery?  They  say  that  if  the  Temporal  Power  were  re- 
stored, Italy  would  cease  to  be  a  great  nation ;  that  her  historic 
peninsula  would  be  the  home  of  two  competitive  peoples,  one 
of  which,  by  virtue  of  the  spiritual  and  temporal  claims  of  its 
ruler,  would  be  constantly  a  source  of  jealousy  to  the  other; 
that  there  would  be  produced  in  Italy  a  situation  similar  to 
that  which  would  prevail  in  America  if  the  North  and  South 
should  form  independent  governments,  the  ruler  of  one  as- 
serting power  over  the  ruler  of  the  other. 

Another  result  of  such  a  recovery  of  Temporal  Power, 
non-Catholic  Americans  say,  would  be  the  secularisation  of  the 
Spiritual  Head  of  the  Catholic  Church;  that  the  Pope  would 
be  numbered  among  mere  earthly  potentates,  and  would  be 
charged  with  the  same  secular  duties  which  characterize  the 
courts  of  political  governments;  that  He  would  be  technically 
entitled  to  diplomatic  representations  at  foreign  courts ;  and 
since  the  Divine  Lord  said  to  Pilate,  "  My  kingdom  is  not  of 
this  world,"  they  say  that  in  this  day  of  materialistic  tendencies 
the  Catholic  Church  should  only  occupy  the  spiritual  plane 
indicated  by  Jesus  Christ.  They  say  that  the  possession  of 
Temporal  Power  would  necessitate  a  Papal  army  and  navy, 
and  they  substantiate  this  assertion  with  references  similar  to 
this : 

It  is,  however,  objected,  the  Vicar  of  Christ  should  not 
be  a  warrior.  .  .  If  the  necessity  of  the  Temporal  Power  is 
admitted,  then  the  Head  of  the  Church  cannot  be  blamed  for 
defending  his  rights  with  secular  weapons.  (Dr.  Pastor's  His- 
tory of  the  Popes,  Vol.  VI.,  pp.  450,  451.) 

Non-Catholic  Americans  declare  that  the  possession  of 
Temporal  Power  would  beget  a  general  laxity  in  morals,  and 
they  cite  in  support  of  this  opinion  such  words  of  Catholic 
writers  as  the  following : 

The  fact  that  the  lives  of  many  Princes  of  the  Church 
were  no  better  than  those  of  the  temporal  rulers  gave  little  or 


352  THE    PAROCHIAL    SCHOOL. 

no  scandal  to  the  Italians  of  the  Renaissance.  This  was  partly 
due  to  the  general  laxity  of  opinion  in  regard  to  morals;  but 
the  habit  of  looking  upon  the  higher  clergy  mainly  as  temporal 
governors  had  also  something  to  do  with  it.  (Dr.  Pastor's 
History  of  the  Popes,  Vol.  V.,  p.  388.) 

Non-Catholic  Americans  say  that  territorial  possessions 
are  not  necessary  for  Pontifical  safety,  freedom  and  power; 
they  assert  that  mental,  moral  and  spiritual  supremacies  would 
make  the  human  race  the  defenders  of  the  Holy  See,  and  any 
chosen  spot  on  earth  a  secure  place  for  the  Chair  of  Peter. 
They  say  that  to  make  the  Pope  the  depository  of  Temporal 
Power  would  be  to  reverse  the  progress  of  the  world  and  set 
civilization  toward  the  dark  ages.  Let  the  Pope,  they  say, 
be  supreme  in  His  spiritual  realm,  but  let  His  hands  be  for- 
ever kept  off  the  reins  of  Temporal  Power. 

I  have  no  opinion  to  express  here  as  to  the  validity  or 
invalidity  of  these  non-Catholic  views.  I  merely  state  them 
because  they  bear  on  Apaism,  and  account,  in  a  measure,  for 
its  existence  in  America. 

That  demands  are  made  by  American  Catholics  for  the 
restoration  of  the  Temporal  Power  of  the  Pope  is  indicated 
by  the  following  resolution,  which  was  adopted  by  the  Amer- 
ican Federation  of  Catholic  Societies,  at  its  convention  at  De- 
troit, Michigan,  in  August,  1904: 

The  Detroit  Evening  News,  August  4,  1904,  p.  6. 

We  reaffirm  our  protest  against  the  violation  of  the  rights 
of  the  holy  see  and  trust  that  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when 
these  rights  will  be  restored.  We  deprecate  the  superficial 
view  that  the  loss  of  the.  temporal  power  has  contributed  to 
the  spiritual  power  of  the  papacy,  and  we  deplore  the  fact  that 
the  supreme  pontiff  is  really  a  prisoner  in  the  Vatican. 

But  how  do  my  Catholic  fellow-citizens,  who  favor  the 
restoration  of  the  Temporal  Power  of  the  Pope,  expect  such 
a  restoration  to  be  accomplished?  Do  they  think  that  it  can 
be  done  by  foreign  intervention  or  by  other  force  of  arms? 


APAISM. 


353 


If  they  do,  they  may  find  food  for  thought  in  these  emphatic 
words  of  Cardinal  Manning: 

To  restore  the  Temporal  Power  of  the  Pope  by  foreign  in- 
tervention, by  force  of  arms,  would  blot  out  in  blood  the  Cath- 
olic faith  in  Italy.  (Purcell's  Life  of  Cardinal  Manning,  Vol. 

ii,  P.  6i5.) 

American  Catholics  may  rest  assured  that  Apaism  will 
continue  in  this  country  just  as  long  as  their  ecclesiastics  as- 
sail Italian  unity  by  demanding  the  restoration  of  the  Tem- 
poral Power  of  the  Pope.  Non-Catholic  Americans  are  sure 
to  regard  the  Catholic  demands  for  the  restoration  of  the  Tem- 
poral Power  of  the  Papacy  as  tantamount  to  a  desire  to  have 
the  Pontifical  power  control  America. 

A  NUNCIO  AT  WASHINGTON. 

The  Vatican  greatly  desires  to  establish  a  nunciature  at 
Washington. 

One  of  the  noblest  ecclesiastics  in  the  hstory  of  the  Cath- 
olic Church  in  America  was  the  late  Archbishop  Katzer  of 
Milwaukee,  Wisconsin.  It  was  my  good  fortune  to  enjoy  the 
personal  friendship  of  this  humble,  pious  and  profoundly 
learned  man  of  God.  I  shall  never  forget  his  interest  in  me 
and  the  warmth  of  the  hospitality  which  I  enjoyed  at  his  hands. 

Archbishop  Katzer  once  referred  to  the  subject  of  dip- 
lomatic relations  between  Rome  and  Washington,  and  said: 

Cardinal  Satolli  told  me  soon  after  he  came  to  America 
that  he  was  sure  of  being  appointed  Papal  Nuncio  at  Wash- 
ington, and  that  he  was  working  to  that  end ;  but  I  told  him  he 
never  would  be  appointed,  that  such  relations  could  never  be 
brought  about,  that  from  what  I  knew  of  the  American  people 
they  would  never  permit  Rome  to  have  a  Nuncio  at  Wash- 
ington and  Washington  to  have  an  ambassador  at  the  Vatican. 
Cardinal  Satolli  replied  with  great  assurance  that  he  was  ab- 
solutely confident  that  he  would  succeed  in  his  efforts  to  be 


354  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

Papal  Nuncio  to  the  United  States  Government  in  addition 
to  being  Papal  Delegate  to  the  Church  in  America,  that  the 
Delegation  Office  was  but  the  stepping-stone  to  membership 
in  the  diplomatic  corps  at  Washington  as  Papal  Nuncio ;  but  I 
responded  that  I  had  been  a  close  student  of  American  history 
and  had  watched  carefully  the  progress  of  religious  and  secular 
events  and  felt  that  I  knew  the  sentiment  of  the  sixty-five 
millions  of  non-Catholic  Americans,  and  that  that  sentiment 
was  one  of  uncompromising  hostility  to  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment recognizing  in  any  way  any  religion,  as  such  recogni- 
tion the  people  believed  would  be  a  gross  violation  of  the  Con- 
stitution of  their  country. 

Archbishop  Katzer  has  gone  to  his  heavenly  reward,  and 
Cardinal  Satolli  could  not,  unfortunately  for  this  book,  con- 
verse with  him  about  his  nunciature  plans  during  his  visit  to 
America  in  the  year  1904. 

Cardinal  Satolli,  according  to  the  press  reports  concern- 
ing his  last  arrival  in  America,  said  on  several  occasions: 
"  My  visit  has  no  official  object,  and  I  have  come  only  to 
see  old  friends  and  enjoy  myself."  Can  it  be  that  His  Emi- 
nence was  less  solicitous  about  the  establishment  of  a  nuncia- 
ture at  Washington  than  he  was  upon  his  former  visit?  Did 
he  fail  to  see  an  opportunity  to  press  the  subject  in  view  of 
the  direct  negotiations  between  the  Church  and  the  American 
Government  concerning  the  Friars'  lands  in  the  Philippines,  the 
Exhibit  of  the  Vatican  at  the  great  Louisiana  Purchase  Ex- 
position at  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  and  the  Presidential  Election 
in  America  this  fall,  for  which  each  political  party  is  seeking 
support?  No,  His  Eminence  was  not  concerned  about  the 
subject  of  a  nunciature  at  Washington ;  he  had  no  special  mis- 
sion ;  he  was  simply  meeting  old  friends ;  and,  incidentally,  re- 
ceiving just  a  little  financial  assistance  for  worthy  religious 
purposes ! ! !  The  editors  of  Catholic  and  non-Catholic  papers 
were  the  only  individuals  who  were  interested  in  the  subject 
of  a  nunciature  at  Washington.  There  is  ample  evidence  that 
these  knights  of  the  quill  were  interested  in  the  topic. 


APAISM.  355 

The  Catholic  Mirror,  the  official  organ  of  Cardinal  Gib- 
bons, in  its  issue  of  June  n,  1904,  contained  an  editorial  en- 
titled, "  Satolli's  Mission,"  and  at  its  close  said : 

Just  what  brings  the  Cardinal  to  this  country  is  as  yet  a 
question.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  he  is  traveling  without 
a  purpose. 

The  Western  Watchman  is  one  of  the  leading  Catholic 
papers  of  America.  It  is  published  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri. 
Its  issue  of  June  23,  1904,  contained  the  following  editorial, 
the  writer  being  a  priest : 

THE  VATICAN  AT  THE  FAIR. 

The  Vatican  Exhibit  at  the  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposi- 
tion has  been  installed  and  the  splendid  contribution  of  the 
Sovereign  Pontiff  to  the  glory  of  our  great  Fair  is  open  to 
the  inspection  of  the  world.  It  is  one  of  the  costliest  and 
most  interesting  of  the  exposition.  . 

Cardinal  Satolli  did  not  come  as  the  Pope's  representative 
to  the  Exposition;  etiquette  forbade  that;  but  he  is,  in  fact, 
if  not  in  name  and  officially,  the  Holy  Father's  commissioner 
to  the  great  St.  Louis  Fair. 

Never  perhaps  has  so  great  a  complim&it  before  been 
paid  a  government  or  a  people  by  the  Holy  See.  The  cost 
was  great ;  the  occasion  was  extraordinary  in  that  the  United 
States  is  not  a  Catholic  power  nor  in  any  sort  of  communion 
with  the  Pope ;  the  visit  of  a  court  Cardinal  synchronized  with 
the  extraordinary  departure  from  all  Vatican  precedent;  and 
these  three  facts  combined  make  the  Vatican  Exhibit  at  the 
Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition  a  fact  of  the  first  importance. 
This  government  and  the  Holy  See  have  been  brought  into 
very  close  relations  during  the  past  two  years.  The  Taft 
Commission  to  the  Vatican  was  an  epoch-making  event.  The 
treaty  between  the  Insular  Government  in  the  Philippines  and 
the  Papal  Delegation  in  the  Archipelago  was  an  event  of 
scarcely  less  significance.  What  has  been  done  in  two  short 
years  in  the  way  of  reapproachment  encourages  the  hope  of 
still  closer  relations. 

This  country  should  be  represented  at  the  Vatican.  The 
Church  in  the  United  States  is  becoming  a  mighty  power  in 
the  politics  of  the  nation,  and  a  power  that  is  not  always-  wise- 


THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

ly  used.  The  Philippines  will  have  to  be  governed  in  union 
and  co-operation  with  the  Church  authorities  in  the  islands. 
There  must  be  hearty  co-operation  between  the  civil  and  ec- 
clesiastical authorities  in  the  Philippines  or  American  su- 
premacy is  doomed  to  be  overthrown.  This  government  has 
found  out  already  that  it  is  much  more  expeditious  and  satis- 
factory to  deal  with  Rome  directly  than  with  her  representa- 
tives, no  matter  how  exalted  their  rank.  This  consideration 
may  prevail  on  Congress  to  create  an  embassy  at  the  Vatican. 
A  few  years  ago,  and  before  the  creation  of  the  Taft  Com- 
mission, the  suggestion  of  a  papal  nuncio  at  Washington  would 
have  raised  a  howl  over  the  whole  land ;  but  since  that  measure 
was  successfully  carried  through  we  regard  anything  in  the 
way  of  conciliation  as  possible.  .  .  .  The  President  is  a 
man  of  courage  and  resource,  and  if  he  thinks  that  the  meas- 
ures of  the  government  can  be  facilitated  and  best  promoted 
by  means  of  reciprocal  diplomatic  representation,  he  will  not 
hesitate  to  recommend  to  Congress  the  creation  of  a  Vatican 
embassy.  These  are  times  of  sudden  and  momentous  changes 
in  popular  sentiment,  and  there  is  no  telling  what  the  year  1904 
will  bring  forth. 

The  New  York  Sun  is  one  of  the  representative  secular 
daily  papers  of  America.  From  its  issue  of  Sunday,  June  19, 
1904,  (page  I,  third  section),  I  quote  the  following: 

WHAT  is  SATOLLI'S   ERRAND? 

What  is  the  significance  of  this,  the  third,  visit  of  his 
Eminence  Cardinal  Satolli  to  America  ?  Is  he  here  on  a  secret 
mission  from  the  Holy  See  or  did  he  travel  thousands  of  miles 
merely  for  pleasure,  as  he  has  more  than,  once  intimated  ?  Is 
there  anything  in  the  present  condition  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  in  America  to  warrant  the  belief  that  the  Pope  sent 
a  trusty  personal  representative  to  make  an  investigation? 

These  are  questions  that  are  puzzling  Catholics  all  over  the 
country.     .     . 

Some  Catholics  here  are  of  the  opinion  that  Cardinal 
Satolli  has  no  particular  mission,  but  that  circumstances  may 
arise  to  create  one  before  he  goes  back  to  Rome.  .  . 

Another  matter  which  may  be  responsible  in  part,  at  least, 
for  his  visit  is  the  desire  of  the  Holy  See  to  establish  diplomatic 


APAISM.  357 

relations  with  the  United  States.  This  subject  will  undoubt- 
edly be  discussed  when  Cardinal  Satolli  calls  on  the  President, 
but  it  is  safe  to  say  that  no  action  will  be  taken,  if  ever,  until 
after  election. 

At  present  there  are  no  official  relations  between  this 
country  and  the  Holy  See.  It  is  true  that  the  Pope  has  sent 
a  Delegate  here,  but  he  is  not  recognized  officially  by  the  Gov- 
'ernment  and  the  United  States  sends  no  minister  to  the  Vati- 
can. 

Rome  has  no  hope  of  inducing  the  American  Government 
to  recognize  the  temporal  power  of  the  Pope.  The  Papal  au- 
thorities feel,  however,  that  a  country  which  contains  12,000,- 
ooo  Catholics  should  not  be  without  an  official  representative 
of  some  kind  at  the  Vatican. 

Questions  are  constantly  arising,  particularly  since  the 
acquisition  by  the  United  States  of  Porto  Rico  and  the  Philip- 
pines, that  call  for  the  services  of  experienced  diplomatists  on 
both  sides.  The  hierarchy  here  and  the  Pope  himself  would 
be  gratified,  it  is  believed,  if  this  Government  would  send  an 
accredited  representative  to  the  Vatican  and  at  the  same  time 
sanction  the  establishment  of  a  nunciature  at  Washington. 

The  Washington  Post  is  regarded  by  many  as  the  leading 
daily  paper  published  in  the  Capital  of  this  Nation.  From 
its  issue  of  Sunday,  June  19,  1904,  page  2,  I  quote  the  foHow- 
ing: 

SATOLLI    IN  THE    CITY. 

No  Light  Thrown  on  the  Cardinal's  Mission — If  Visit  is  Mere- 
ly to  Receive  Courtesies,  an  Ironclad  Rule  is  Being  Broken. 

Cardinal  Satolli  arrived  in  Washington  about  II  o'clock 
last  night.  .  .  .  No  information  can  be  obtained  as  to  the 
occasion  of  the  visit  of  the  former  apostolic  delegate  to  this 
country  other  than  that  it  has  no  bearing*  upon  church  politics. 
It  has  been  emphatically  stated  by  persons  who  were  in  a  po- 
sition to  speak  with  accuracy  that  he  has  no  "  mission  "  from 
Rome,  but,  despite  these  repeated  assertions,  conjecture  is  wide- 
spread, and  many  are  inclined  to  believe  that  back  of  what  is 
stated  to  be  a  vacation  trip  lies  some  momentous  problem  of 
church  policy. 


THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

Attention  has  been  called  to  the  fact  that  the  Cardinal 
will  dine  with  Secretary  Taft  and  take  luncheon  with  Presi- 
dent Roosevelt,  and  in  view  of  his  high  position  in  the  Church 
great  importance  has  been  attached  to  these  functions.  Com- 
ment has  also  been  indulged  in  with  reference  to  the  dinner 
given  to  the  visitor  a  week  ago  yesterday  by  Cardinal  Gibbons, 
at  the  latter's  home  in  Baltimore.  Cardinal  Satolli  went  from 
New  York  to  Baltimore  on  the  day  of  the  dinner  and  remained- 
that  night  and  over  last  Sunday,  when  he  departed. 

No  especial  importance  is  attached  to  the  dinner  itself, 
as  the  list  of  guests  indicates  that  it  was  a  merely  social  gath- 
ering, but  it  is  reported  that  the  two  Cardinals  had  a  long 
private  conference  in  Cardinal  Gibbons'  study,  and  it  is  specu- 
lated that  the  theme  of  their  talk  probably  was  with  reference 
to  the  relations  of  this  country  and  the  Church.  The  question 
is  asked,  "Was  it  about  the  nunciature?"  and  no  one  seems 
able  to  answer  the  query  because  knowledge  of  the  subject  of 
the  conversation  is  confined  to  the  two  cardinals. 

The  nunciature  is  still  talked  of  despite  denials  respecting 
it,  and  reference  is  made  to  the  good  understanding  that  has 
for  a  long  time  prevailed  between  the  United  States  and  the 
Vatican.  In  some  circles  it  is  thought  that  a  diplomatic  re- 
lationship between  this  government  and  Rome  might  be  bene- 
ficial to  both,  and  it  is  hinted  that  many  Catholics  of  influence 
would  be  greatly  pleased  if  the  President  should  arrange  some 
such  relationship. 

It  remained  for  a  citizen  of  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  to  remind 
His  Eminence  publicly,  at  the  celebration  held  in  His  honor 
in  that  city,  of  the  nunciature  subject,  as  appears  from  The 
St.  Louis  Globe-Democrat  of  Friday,  July  i,  1904,  p.  3,  first 
column : 

Judge  Ryan  was  the  next  speaker  and  he  told  the  story 
of  the  struggles  of  the  Catholic  Church.  He  predicted  that 
some  day  before  long  the  United  States  would  have  a  represent- 
ative at  Rome  and  Rome  one  at  the  Capital  of  our  Nation. 

Non-Catholic  American  citizens  will  please  not  be  dis- 
turbed by  any  nunciature  suggestions.  His  Eminence,  Car- 
dinal Satolli,  came  to  America  simply  on  a  visit  which  was 


360  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

"  one  purely  of  love  and  pleasure,"  and  profit  "  on  the  side." 
He  did  nothing  to  bring  about  a  fulfillment  of  the  prophecy  of 
the  distinguished  jurist  of  Missouri ! !  Please,  sensitive  Amer- 
ican citizens,  do  not  squeal  until  you  are  stuck ! !  Quiet  your- 
selves with  a  remembrance  of  the  admiration  of  His  Eminence, 
and  other  Princes  of  the  Church,  for  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States.  Did  His  Eminence  not  call  upon  the  Catholics 
of  America  to  go  forward,  bearing  in  one  hand  the  Bible  and 
in  the  other  hand  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States?  Of 
course,  it  will  have  to  be  admitted  that  His  Eminence,  (ow- 
ing, perhaps,  to  astonishment  at  American  generosity,  or  bash- 
fulness  caused  by  the  accusation  of  a  Pontifical  ancestry  which 
was  made  by  a  most  distinguished  American  Church  dignitary 
and  educator,  who  was  formerly  Rector  of  the  American  Col- 
lege at  Rome),  forgot  to  specify  which  hand  should  hold  the 
Constitution — a  somewhat  perplexing  omission,  because 
priests,  prelates,  Papal  Delegates,  and  even  Cardinals,  have 
been  known  to  have  three  hands,  namely,  a  right-hand,  a  left- 
hand  and  a  behind-hand.  But  a  little  forgetfulness  like  this 
is  really  unimportant  since  His  Eminence  ordered  the  Con- 
stitution to  go  forward ! ! ! 

Thank  God !  the  Constitution  will  go  forward.  Long  aft- 
er His  Eminence  has  turned  to  dust,  in  the  shroud  of  oblivion, 
it  will  be  alive,  unfettered  by  any  hand  of  simulated  friendship, 
the  protector  of  American  liberties,  and  a  beacon  light  to  the 
world. 

The  unwisdom  of  the  Vatican's  efforts  to  establish  a  nun- 
ciature at  Washington  should  be  learned  from  the  impetus 
given  Apaism  by  the  sending  of  even  a  Papal  Delegate  to 
America.  In  this  connection  I  quote  the  fearless  words  of 
Bishop  Spalding  of  Peoria,  Illinois: 

The  Faribault  episode,  in  itself  insignificant,  became  the 
occasion  of  sending  a  papal  envoy  here,  and  of  establishing  a 
permanent  Papal  Delegation  in  Washington,  which,  from  what- 
ever point  it  be  considered,  is  an  affair  of  grave  moment. 


APAISM.  361 

From  the  beginning  the  American  bishops,  whenever  consulted, 
strongly  opposed  the  founding  of  such  an  institution  here. 

That  the  Delegate  has  been  and  is  a  source  of  strength 
to  the  Apaists  there  can  be  no  doubt.  .  .  .  When  the 
organs  of  public  opinion  were  filled  with  the  sayings  and  do- 
ings of  "  The  American  Pope,"  who  though  a  foreigner,  with 
no  intention  of  becoming  a  citizen,  ignorant  alike  of  our  lan- 
guage and  our  traditions,  was  supposed  to  have  supreme  au- 
thority in  the  Church  in  America,  fresh  fuel  was  thrown  upon 
the  fire  of  bigotry.  The  fact  that  his  authority  is  ecclesiastical 
merely  .  ...  is  lost  sight  of  by  the  multitudes  who  are 
persuaded  that  the  Papacy  is  a  political  power  eager  to  extend 
its  control  wherever  opportunity  may  offer.  This  feeling, 
which  has  existed  among  us  from  the  beginning,  led  our  first 
Bishop,  Carroll  of  Baltimore,  who  was  beyond  doubt  a  de- 
voted churchman  and  a  true  patriot,  to  make  an  official  declar- 
ation in  1797,  on  Washington's  Birthday,  wherein  he  affirmed 
that  the  obedience  we  owed  the  Pope  is  "  in  things  purely 
spiritual,"  and  such  has  been  our  uniform  belief  and  teaching 
as  whoever  takes  the  trouble  to  read  what  those  who  have  the 
best  right  to  speak  for  us  have  written  on  this  subject  will  see. 

Our  obedience  to  the  Pope  is  confined  to  the  domain  of  re- 
ligious faith,  morals  and  discipline.  .  .  .  We  have,  and 
none  are  more  thankful  for  this  than  the  Catholics,  a  separa- 
tion of  the  Church  from  the  State.  .  .  .  The  Pope  has 
never  attempted  to  interfere  in  the  civil  or  political  affairs 
of  this  country,  and  were  he  to  attempt  to  do  so  his  action 
would  be  resented  by  the  Catholics  more  quickly  than  by  oth- 
ers. One  reason  why  our  representative  men  have  always  op- 
posed the  appointment  of  a  Papal  Delegate  for  the  United 
States  was  their  unwillingness  to  give  our  enemies  even  a  pre- 
text for  accusing  us,  as  citizens,  of  being  under  foreign  in- 
fluence. The  Pope  is  our  religious,  not  our  civil  or  political, 
superior.  (North  American  Review,  September,  1894,  p. 

278.) 

It  would  be  as  un-American  to  permit  a  nunciature  at 
Washington  as  to  install  the  Pope  in  the  White  House.  It 
cannot  be  done  without  violating  the  Constitution  of  the  Unit- 
ed States.  The  political  party  that  even  dares  to  countenance 
a  nunciature  will  be  swept  out  of  existence. 


362  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

There  will  be  Apaism  in  America  as  long  as  the  Vatican 
perseveres  in  Her  efforts  to  establish  a  nunciature  at  Wash- 
ington, and  as  long  as  misguided  American  Catholics  favor 
such  an  establishment. 

I  humbly  commend  to  the  Vatican  these  forceful  words  of 
Cardinal  Manning  to  Pope  Leo  XIII. : 

Leave  dynasties  to  themselves;  do  away  with  concordats; 
give  up  the  policy  of  Sixtus  V. ;  abandon  all  antiquated  and 
contingent  forms,  and  all  those  historical  conditions  which 
have  degenerated  into  mere  ornaments  or  dangerous  obstacles. 
Go  forth  to  meet  the  people ;  apply  the  words  of  Christ,  "  I 
have  compassion  upon  the  multitude ;  "  foster  and  direct  the 
democracy;  prepare  the  Church  for  the  near  future;  and,  in- 
stead of  having  nunciatures,  establish  more  direct  relations 
with  the  bishops,  who  are  the  natural  representatives  and  ad- 
visers of  the  Pope.  (W.  T.  Stead,  in  American  Monthly  Re- 
view of  Reviews,  August,  1903,  p.  168.  See  also  Purcell's 
Life  of  Cardinal  Manning,  Vol.  II.,  p.  741.) 

BLATANT  BOASTING. 

Undue  efforts  are  made  by  Catholic  ecclesiastics  to  im- 
press the  public  with  the  power  of  the  Church  in  America  and 
elsewhere.  The  daily  papers  are  continually  rilled  with  the 
accounts  oi  the  doings  and  sayings  of  ecclesiastics  at  home 
and  abroad.  The  non-Catholics  become  irritated  by  the  sur- 
feit, and  are  led  to  believe  that  the  daily  press  is  somehow 
under  the  thumb  of  the  hierarchy ;.  the  result  is  Apaism. 

I  am  of  the  profound  conviction  that  this  "  blatant  boast- 
ing "  is  done  to  deceive  the  public  and  to  mislead  the  honest 
Catholic  people,  and  I  insist  that  there  is  an  imperative  need 
to  impress  all  Catholics  who  have  to  do  with  the  public  press 
with  a  sense  of  the  harm  done  the  Church  by  not  having  as 
one  of  their  precepts,  "  Thou  shalt  not  lie."  The  Catholic 
Church  is  losing  prestige  by  the  blatant  and  untruthful  ad- 
vertising done  in  its  name  in  the  press.  Non-Catholics  are 
not  deceived.  They  understand  matters.  So  much  daily  and 


APAISM.  363 

bold  boasting  has  the  deplorable  effect  of  arraying  and  solidi- 
fying them  in  determined  hostility  to  the  Catholic  Church. 
The  Catholic  people  who  know  the  true  inwardness  of  things 
are  disgusted  to  see  daily  in  the  public  prints  laudatory  men- 
tion, with  photographs,  of  ecclesiastics  whose  private  lives 
are  horrible  blasphemies.  The  moral  and  spiritual  worth  of 
Catholicism  should  be  depended  upon  to  win  prestige  with 
the  American  people,  and  not  such  nefarious  advertising. 

Here  is  a  sample  of  blatant  boasting  which  causes  intense 
Apaism : 

The  Chicago  Tribune,  May  5,  1903. 

QUIGLEY   AS   AN   OPTIMIST. 
SEES  WONDERFUL  GROWTH  OF  ROMAN   CATHOLIC  CHURCH. 

Standing  the  Only  Man  Among  800  Women,  the  Archbishop 
Declares  He  Has  Been  Deeply  Impressed  by  the  Progress- 
ive Spirit  of  the  West — Forecasts  the  Time  When 
the  Religion  He  Represents  Will  Lead  the  World. 

"  Since  I  have  seen  the  western  parochial  schools  I  have 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  in  fifty  years,  if  things  go  on  as  I 
see  they  are  going  on  at  present,  the  Catholic  Church  will  ac- 
tually own  the  west." 

Such  was  the  optimistic  declaration  of  Archbishop  Quig- 
ley  last  night  before  the  Children  of  Mary  sodality  at  the  Holy 
Name  parish  school,  Chicago  avenue  and  Cass  street.  The  oc- 
casion was  a  reception  given  to  the  Archbishop  by  the  mem- 
bers of  the  sodality,  and  the  prelate  was  the  only  man  in  a 
gathering  of  800  women. 

"  Within  twenty  years  this  country  is  going  to  rule  the 
world.  Kings  and  emperors  will  soon  pass  away,  and  the 
democracy  of  the  United  States  will  take  their  place.  The 
west  will  dominate  the  country,  and  what  I  have  seen  of  the 
western  parochial  schools  has  proved  that  the  generation  which 
follows  us  will  be  exclusively  Catholic.  When  the  United 
States  rules  the  world  the  Catholic  Church  will  rule  the  world." 

Another  aspect  of  this  subject  has  to  do  with  Catholic 
parades  in  which  participate  regiments  of  the  National  Guard, 


364  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

and  Catholic  military  or  semi-military  societies.  Non-Cath- 
olics naturally  wonder  why  the  Catholic  Church  fosters  mili- 
tary organizations,  and  they  also  question  the  propriety  of 
any  regiment  of  the  National  Guard  being  ordered  to  grace  a 
purely  religious  demonstration.  They  wonder  if  there  is  not 
some  far-reaching  plan  for  the  aggrandizement  of  the  Cath- 
olic Church  in  this  country  in  the  carrying  out  of  which  re- 
liance will  be  placed  upon  military  drill  and  prestige.  The 
effect  of  these  things  is  to  create  Apaism. 

Another  form  of  this  blatant  boasting  in  the  American 
papers  is  seen  in  the  accounts  which  are  fed  to  the  public  re- 
garding the  opposition  in  France  to  the  Catholic  Church.  Evi- 
dently a  deliberate  attempt  has  been  and  is  being  made  to  lead 
the  American  people  to  believe  that  the  Catholic  Church  is  be- 
ing persecuted  without  a  cause  in  France,  and  that  the  attacks 
which  are  being  made  upon  it  there  are  wholly  due  to  the  ma- 
chinations of  certain  unchristian  politicians  who  happen  to  be 
in  control  of  the  reins  of  power.  The  Religious  Teaching 
Orders  in  France 'are  lauded  to  the  skies  for  their  wonderful 
educational  work,  and  bitter  criticisms  are  leveled  against  the 
French  Government  for  bringing  them  under  the  dominion  of 
French  law. 

Those  who  are  conversant  with  the  situation  know  that 
Catholic  school  conditions  in  France  agree  in  more  than  one 
particular  with  the  evil  conditions  which  surround  the  paroch- 
ial school  in  America ;  and  they  also  know  that  leading  French 
statesmen  are  fully  informed  of  the  moral,  pedagogic  and  pa- 
triotic derelictions  of  the  members  of  the  Teaching  Orders 
and  of  the  French  clergy ;  and  they  also  know  that  those  states- 
men are  thoroughly  informed  in  reference  to  the  intrigues  and 
grafting  which  are  prevalent  at  the  Vatican. 

Analyzed  truthfully  the  present  conflict  between  France 
and  the  Vatican  narrows  down  to  this  as  its  real  cause :  French 
statesmen  are  sick  of  Catholic  clerical  corruption,  and  they 
are  trying  to  put  an  end  to  it. 


APAISM.  365 

It  may  interest  the  public  to  learn  that  the  Church  looks 
with  favor  upon  the  members  of  the  French  Religious  Teach- 
ing Orders  rinding  an  asylum  in  America.  Driven  out  of 
France  by  the  patriotic  sentiment  which  has  become  regnant 
against  permitting  French  youth  to  receive  at  the  hands  of 
Catholic  Religious  Teachers  an  education  which  at  least  equals 
in  its  evil  conditions  the  parochial  school  training  given  to 
Catholic  children  in  the  United  States,  they  can  come  to  Amer- 
ica to  reinforce  the  teaching  staff  of  the  parochial  schools 
and  to  work  to  secure  for  the  parochial  school  a  share  of  the 
public  moneys.  As  an  American  citizen  I  assert  that  the  hier- 
archy which  favors  this  importation  of  Religious  Teachers 
from  France  thereby  commits  treason,  in  the  spirit  if  not  in 
the  letter,  against  America. 

France  is  proudly  called  by  the  Church  her  eldest  daugh- 
ter. The  vast  majority  of  the  millions  of  French  people  are 
Catholics.  There  must  be  something  radically  wrong  with 
their  religious  guides  or  they  would  rise  up  in  rebellion  in 
behalf  of  the  Religious  Orders. 

Great  harm  is  being  done  the  Catholic  Church  by  a  form 
of  indirect  boasting  which  is  disgusting  intelligent  Catholics, 
and  it  should  be  discountenanced.  I  refei;  to  the  publicity 
secured  for  the  attentions  of  Catholic  priests  and  nuns  to  mur- 
derers who  are  aboflt  to  be  executed.  Priests  often  urge  their 
services  upon  condemned  men ;  such  ministrations  afford  matter 
for  publicity  by  which  the  public  may  be  led  to  reason  in  this 
way :  "  The  Catholic  Church  must  be  the  true  church  or  men 
in  such  extremity  would  not  turn  to  it  for  comfort  here  and 
life  hereafter."  Condemned  murderers  often  become  Cath- 
olics to  secure  better  jail  rations,  since  their  new  religious 
brethren  are  generally  filling  the  majority  of  the  jail  offices; 
and  evidently  they  think  that  the  Catholic  Church  may  use  its 
political  influence  to  get  the  Governor  of  the  State  to  reprieve 
them.  I  have  no  objection  to  the  comforts  of  our  holy  re- 
ligion being  freely  bestowed  upon  any  sincerely  repentant 


366  THE    PAROCHIAL    SCHOOL 

criminal,  no  matter  what  his  crime,  but  they  ought  to  be  min- 
istered to  these  wretched  men  unostentatiously,  and  any 
"  grand  stand  play "  should  be  eliminated.  Catholic  priests, 
by  the  spectacular  character  of  their  ministrations  to  con- 
demned murderers,  put  a  halo  of  glory  upon  the  brow  of  crime. 
Indirectly,  if  not  directly,  their  ostentatious  course  causes 
Apaism. 

Blatant  boasters  delight  to  herald  to  the  world  any  court- 
esy which  Church  dignitaries  may  receive  from  the  President 
of  the  United  States.  This  in  itself  may  not  be  reprehensible, 
but,  unfortunately,  they  generally  insinuate  that  the  honor  is 
a  token  of  respect  to  the  Holy  See,  and  this  course  begets 
Apaism.  I  quote  as  follows : 

Another  indirect  testimony  of  respect  to  the  Holy  See 
is  the  satisfaction  expressed  on  a  recent  occasion  by  General 
Grover  Cleveland,  President  of  the  United  States,  at  the  eleva- 
tion to  the  Sacred  College  of  Cardinal  Gibbons,  Archbishop 
of  Baltimore.  (The  Irish  Ecclesiastical  Record,  [Catholic], 
under  episcopal  sanction,  third  series,  Vol.  VIIL,  1887,  p. 

379-) 

In  a  late  issue  of  L'ltalie  we  find  the  following: 
"  From  an  interview  accorded  by  Cardinal  Gibbons  to  a 
French  journalist* we  extract  this  beautiful  definition  of  true  lib- 
erty as  it  is  understood  in  America.  '  Ah  if  you  had  in  France 
a  country  and  above  all  a  government  sim^ar  to  ours/  said  the 
Cardinal,  '  I  would  not  uphold  the  maintenance  of  the  Con- 
cordat. Yet  I  am  very  energetically  partisan  to  the  free  Church 
in  a  free  state; — but  would  you  with  the  concordat  abolished 
have  this  liberty?  Alas,  permit  me  to  doubt  it.  .  .  . 

It  does  not  suffice  the  Church  to  be  free.  She  also  must 
have  the  respect  and  consideration  of  those  who  govern  the  peo- 
ple ;  and  it  is  this  which  we  never  lack.  The  American  govern- 
ment seems  to  take  special  pains  to  surround  the  Church  with 
exceptional  privileges  and  seizes  all  the  occasions  possible  to 
show  us  her  esteem.  Much  better;  to  accentuate  this  policy, 
the  government  places  in  our  schools  and  orphanages  subjects 
whom  it  has  taken  in  charge,  and  for  whom  it  pays  a  high  tui- 
tion. You  see  it  not  only  gives  us  moral,  but  on  occasions, 


APA1SM.  367 

financial  support.  Understand  me,  sir,  that  if  our  Church  is  so 
prosperous  it  is  because  we  have  not  only  liberty,  but,  above 
all,  universal  respect;  but  in  France,  the  Concordat  abolished, 
you  are  unhappily  certain  to  have  neither  the  one  nor  the 
other."  (The  Catholic  Citizen,  Nov.  12,  1904,  p.  I.) 

THE  CURE  FOR  APAISM. 

The  Catholic  laity  in  America  can  obliterate  every  vestige 
of  Apaism  by  refusing  to  support  the  un-American  policies 
of  Catholic  ecclesiastics.  I  now  present  a  few  facts  and  sug- 
gestions in  the  hope  of  assisting  them  to  adopt  and  to  pursue 
this  course. 

American  ideals  were  formulated  and  proclaimed  by  a 
non-Catholic  constituency.  After  having  been  sheltered  and 
encouraged  by  those  ideals,  an4  after  having  been  given  equali- 
ty and  opportunity,  American  Catholics  are  showing  a  spirit 
of  ingratitude  by  adopting  and  pursuing  policies  destructive 
of  Americanisms.  Catholic  people,  what  do  you  think  of  the 
views  urged  upon  you  by  prominent  clerical  and  lay  Catholics 
• — views  which  negative  popular  government,  freedom  of  con- 
science, a  free  press,  free  speech  and  the  public  schools ;  views 
which  strike  at  the  very  foundations  of  our  splendid  Govern- 
ment ;  views  which  antagonize  principles  which  have  made  the 
United  States  synonymous  with  opportunity  for  humanity? 
What  think  you  of  less  than  twelve  millions  of  Catholics  be- 
ing urged  to  try  to  override  seventy  millions  of  their  fellow- 
citizens?  Is  it  any  wonder  that  you  should  be  regarded  with 
grave  suspicion,  to  say  the  least,  by  your  fellow-citizens  of 
non-Catholic  beliefs? 

What  is  the  manifest  duty  of  American  Catholics  toward 
their  country?  I  submit  it  to  their  good  sense  that  patriotism 
demands  that  they  support  the  ideals  upon  which  their  Gov- 
ernment has  been  founded  and  built;  that  they  give  to  them 
an  unqualified  devotion ;  and  that  they  do  their  utmost  to 
have  them  realized  in  the  lives  of  the  entire  citizenship.  The 
men  whose  noble  words  and  deeds  shed  lustre  upon  the  his- 


368  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

tory  of  the  United  States  were  deeply  imbued  with  the  various 
principles  which  are  called  Americanisms.  They  believed  in 
and  advocated  them  all.  In  fact,  they  themselves  were  the 
product  of  them.  The  governmental,  social,  intellectual,  moral 
and  religious  ideals  which  could  produce  George  Washing- 
ton, Thomas  Jefferson,  Daniel  Webster,  Henry  Clay,  Abraham 
Lincoln,  U.  S.  Grant,  James  A.  Garfield  and  William  McKin- 
ley  surely  need  no  other  encomium,  and  they  can  certainly 
have  none  higher.  Such  ideals  have  but  one  question  to  ask 
an  antagonist,  and  that  is,  "  Can  you  produce  as  good  men  ?  " 
Any  ism  that  seeks  to  supplant  or  modify  these  American  ideals 
must  wait  for  a  hearing  by  the  American  people  until  it  can 
not  only  answer  that  question  in  the  affirmative,  but  exhibit 
the  men.  , 

Catholics  should  recognize  the  religious  facts  in  our  na- 
tional life.  While  the  Republic  is  not  committed  to  any  re- 
ligion, still  the  people  are  not  infidels ;  they  believe  in  God, 
and  this  belief  is  shown  to  exist  by  many  historical  facts — 
the  annual  Thanksgiving  proclamation,  chaplains  in  the  army 
and  navy,  chaplains  in  the  various  national  and  state  legisla- 
tive bodies,  the  cessation  of  all  legislative  work  on  the  Lord's 
Day,  the  "  In  God  we  trust "  upon  the  currency,  an  oath  of 
office  for  chief  office-holders,  an  oath  for  jurors  and  witnesses 
in  courts  of  justice,  and  a  Presidential  chair  which  has  never 
yet  been  occupied  by  an  infidel.  I  earnestly  call  attention  to 
the  fact  that  the  spirit  of  religion  and  morality  is  abroad  in 
the  land.  The  ideals  of  our  Government  are  neither  pagan 
nor  infidel.  The  ten  commandments  are  woven  into  the  juris- 
prudence of  the  Nation.  The  sermon  on  the  mount  impreg- 
nates the  ethics  of  the  people.  No  legislature  here  could,  if  it 
desired,  bind  the  people  to  pagan  or  infidel  tenets.  The  press, 
considered  as  a  whole,  is  tremendously  on  the  side  of  righteous- 
ness. A  nation  that  pauses  five  minutes  during  the  funeral 
of  its  chief  executive,  and  sings  while  it  weeps  "  Nearer,  my 
God,  to  thee,"  is  at  heart  neither  irreligious  nor  godless. 


APAISM.  369 

These  facts  are  full  of  significance :  they  show  that  the  public 
is  swayed  by  the  spirit  of  religion. 

We  Catholics  should  not  pass  harsh  judgments  upon 
our  fellow-citizens  because  they  happen  not  to  be  members 
of  our  Faith.  We  may  and  should  deeply  mourn  their  being 
outside  the  pale  of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  earnestly  pray 
for  their  conversion  to  our  Faith;  but  we  should  not  forget 
that  with  an  entire  separation  of  Church  and  State,  and  with 
a  multitude  of  sectarian  beliefs,  our  country  has  so  progressed 
that  it  is  in  the  van  of  the  nations  of  the  world.  If  separation 
of  Church  and  State,  coupled  with  free  schools,  freedom  of 
speech  and  freedom  of  the  press  has  been  so  fruitful  of  na- 
tionaj  success  in  the  past,  why  should  Catholics  doubt  that 
its  continuance  will  fail  to  produce  corresponding  if  not  even 
greater  blessings  in  the  centuries  unborn? 

In  this  connection  I  deem  it  proper  to  call  the  attention 
of  non-Catholics  to  the  groundlessness  of  their  belief  in  the 
views  of  certain  priests  and  prelates  who  hold  that  if  it  were 
not  for  the  Catholic  Church  the  multitudes  of  plain  Catholic 
people  would  become  unmanageable,  break  over  all  legal 
and  social  barriers,  and  trample  under-  feet,  in  a  reign  of 
riot  and  bloodshed,  the  body  politic.  Humble  Catholic  peo- 
ple are  human ;  they  love  their  homes ;  they  know  the  meaning 
of  laughter  and  tears,  of  pleasure  and  pain;  they  need  no  one 
to  tell  them  the  definitions  of  affection  and  duty.  They  think, 
they  read,  they  converse,  they  observe  and  they  reflect.  They 
are  not  fools,  and  they  are  not  savages.  The  Catholic  re- 
ligion no  more  keeps  them  from  relapsing  into  barbarism  than 
it  keeps  the  Catholic  capitalists. 

Each  sect  in  America  should  deal  solely  with  the  ordi- 
nary spiritual  interests  of  its  members,  and  should  keep  its 
hands  off  the  political  institutions  of  the  land.  Let  that  re- 
ligious body  become  dominant  which  can  conquer  the  first 
place  in  our  Nation,  not  by  a  radical  subversion  of  American 
ideals,  but  by  the  excellence  of  its  manhood  and  womanhood! 


37°  THE   PAROCHIAL    SCHOOL. 

American  Catholics  should  cultivate  friendly  relations 
with  their  fellow  countrymen.  Let  them  show  the  primacy 
of  their  Church  by  the  superiority  of  their  individual  characters. 
The  divinity  of  our  Church  will  win  America  to  its  fold  by  a 
continuing  demonstration  of  its  power  to  produce  Christlike- 
ness  in  the  Catholic  clergy  and  laity.  Our  Church  will  never 
win  the  American  people  by  making  war  upon  any  time-hon- 
ored American  ideal ;  but  such  an  attack  will  work  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  body  that  makes  it. 

American  Catholics  should  oppose  any  Catholic  organi- 
zation that  creates  Apaism.  Let  them  learn  from  what  has  re- 
cently happened  in  Ireland,  where  was  formed  "  The  Catholic 
Association,"  but  there  the  Roman  Catholic  Archbishop  of 
Dublin,  the  Most  Rev.  William  J.  Walshe,  had  the  co'urage 
to  condemn  the  organization,  charging  that  it  was  doing 
"  grievous  harm  to  Catholic  interests  and  exposing  the  Catholic 
religion  itself  to  unmerited  obloquy."  (See  the  Literary  Di- 
gest of  February  13,  1904,  pp.  229,  230). 

Catholic  people,  take  your  eyes  off  church  parades  and 
shows  and  press  reports  and  look  for  character.  Is  our  Church 
in  America  uplifting  its  people?  Are  its  adherents  becoming 
Christlike  ?  A  tree  may  put  forth  green  leaves,  it  may  stand 
high  and  be  the  observed  of  all  the  trees  of  the  forest ;  but  at  the 
same  time  it  may  have  the  dry-rot  and  be  perishing  inwardly. 
So,  too,  there  may  be  much  outward  show  in  religion  while  de- 
cay is  at  the  heart.  My  files  are  full  of  newspaper  accounts  of 
the  doings  of  priests  and  prelates,  who  are  pictured  in  the  sacred 
garments  of  the  holy  priesthood,  surrounded  by  vast  throngs  of 
the  faithful,  participating  in  the  dedications  of  churches,  in 
corner  stone  layings,  and  in  banquets,  parades  and  other 
functions,  while  against  these  Church  dignitaries  written 
charges  of  immorality  are  on  file  at  Rome.  Catholic  people, 
this  is  ecclesiastical  dry-rot. 

My  dear  Catholic  people,  let  us  cling  to  our  Church !  Let 
us  reverently  seek  the  grace  of  Her  Sacraments!  Let  us  be 


APAISM.  371 

obedient  to  all  spiritual  directions  of  lawful  ecclesiastical 
authority !  Let  us  enrich  our  minds  and  cultivate  our  hearts ! 
Let  us  live  in  charity  with  our  fellow-citizens  of  varying  creeds! 
Let  us  strive  to  win  non-Catholics  to  Catholicism  by 'the  purity 
of  our  lives,  by  our  highmindedness,  by  the  genuineness  of 
our  patriotism,  and  by  the  nobility  of  our  deeds !  Let  us  not 
antagonize  our  fellow-citizens  by  championing  policies  which 
do  violence  to  the  lessons  of  American  history  and  which  tend 
to  subvert  our  Government!  Let  us  determine  to  be  twenti- 
eth century  Catholics  and  to  be  free  from  the  shackles  of 
medievalism.  Bishop  Spalding  of  Peoria,  Illinois,  sounded 
the  proper  key-note  in  these  trenchant  words: 

The  attempt  to  commit  the  Catholics  of  the  nineteenth 
century  here  in  America  to  all  the  deeds  and  utterances  of  those 
in  the  Middle  Ages  is  futile.  We  do  not  hold  that  the  Popes 
have  never  been  in  the  wrong ;  nor  are  we  bound,  to  quote  Car- 
dinal Newman,  "  to  defend  the  policy  or  the  acts  of  particular 
Popes,  whether  before  or  after  the  great  revolt  from  their  au- 
thority in  the  sixteenth  century."  If  the  public  law  of  Europe, 
in  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries  permitted  them  to  declare 
forfeit  the  authority  of  tyrannical  princes  and  emperors,  it  does 
not  follow  that  they  are  permitted  to  do  so  now.  We  are 
Catholics,  but  we  are  also  men,  and  though  the  essential  ten- 
ets of  the  faith  are  immutable  we  ourselves  change  with  a 
changing  world.  We  accept  with  frank  sincerity,  with  cheer- 
ful acquiescence,  the  principles  involved  in  the  rule  of  the  people, 
by  the  people  and  for  the  people,  and  are  content  to  abide  the 
issue.  (North  American  Review,  September,  1904,  p.  278.) 

Let  us  tenaciously  hold  to  the  spiritual  teachings  of  our 
Holy  Religion:  but  let  us  no  less  tenaciously  hold  to  funda- 
mental Americanisms. 


CHAPTER 


THE   EMANCIPATION  OF   THE    CATHOLIC   LAITY. 


THE  LAITY  MUST  CONTROL  TEMPORALITIES. 
For  the  Sake  of  Education. 

There  is  but  one  thing  which  can  regenerate  the  parochial 
school,  and  that  is  the  placing  of  its  management  wholly  in  the 
hands  of  the  laity.  Till  that  is  done  the  parochial  school  will 
continue  to  be  a  curse  to  the  Church  and  a  menace  to  the  Nation. 

Catholic  ecclesiastics  will  bitterly  combat  any  effort  to 
take  the  parochial  schools  from  their  charge  and  put  them 
under  the  control  of  the  laity.  The  reason  may  be  found  in  the 
words  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  said : 

For  every  one  that  doth  evil  hateth  the  light,  and  cometh 
not  to  the  light,  that  his  works  may  not  be  reproved.  But  he 
that  doth  truth,  cometh  to  the  light,  that  his  works  may  be  made 
manifest,  because  they  are  done  in  God.  (St.  John  chap.  Ill, 
vs.  20,  21.) 

What  would  the  laity  do  if  they  controlled  the  parochial 
school?  They  would  handle  all  its  funds;  they  would  let  all 
contracts  for  the  erection  of  school  buildings,  and  report  to 
the  parish  the  exact  receipts  and  disbursements.  They  would 
insist  that  the  parochial  school  principal  be  a  man  of  unblem- 
ished character  and  first-class  pedagogic  ability  and  training. 
If  the  pastor  did  not  fulfill  these  requirements  they  would  insist 
upon  having  some  one,  either  clerical  or  lay,  who  could.  They 
would  not  permit  the  parochial  school  principal  to  turn  the 
school  into  an  agency  for  personal  gain. 


CATHOLIC  EMANCIPATION.  373 

The  laity  would  require  that  parochial  school  teachers 
be  second  to  none  in  ability,  and  if  the  members  of  the  sister- 
hoods could  not  meet  the  standard  they  would  be  put  out  and 
others  secured,  even  if  purely  secular  teachers  had  to  be  en- 
gaged. 

The  laity  would  not  permit  the  abuse  and  demoralization 
of  the  parochial  school  children. 

The  laity  would  require  that  a  proper  equilibrium  be  main- 
tained between  religious  and  secular  instruction. 

Lay  officials  would  be  responsible  to  their  respective 
parishes,  and  would  be  open  to  suggestions  for  the  good  of  the 
parochial  school. 

In  short,  the  laity  would  put  an  end  to  graft,  and  inaug- 
urate a  reign  of  genuine  education. 

When  the  laity  had  done  its  work  they  would  discover 
that  if  their  priests  were  men  of  God  the  public  school  is  amply 
sufficient  for  the  proper  education  of  the  Catholic  youth,  and 
they  would  abandon  the  parochial  school. 

The  Catholic  parochial  school  should  never  have  been 
started.  It  will  go  out  of  existence  when  the  Catholic  laity 
are  emancipated,  if  it  is  not  annihilated  sooner  by  the  over- 
whelming power  of  the  non-Catholic  majority  of  our  popula- 
tion 

For  the  Sake  of  Religion. 

There  never  will  be  a  body  of  conscientious,  devoted,  pure- 
hearted,  unselfish  and  spiritually-minded  priests  in  the  Catho- 
lic Church  in  America  until  the  Catholic  laity  are  emancipated. 
When  laymen  control  Church  temporalities  men  will  not  seek 
the  holy  priesthood  for  the  graft  in  it ;  they  will  enter  it  in 
obedience  to  the  voice  of  God.  Then  there  will  be  priests  of 
the  character  St.  Paul  had  in  mind  when  he  wrote,  "  Neither 
doth  any  man  take  the  honour  to  himself,  but  he  that  is  called 
by  God,  as  Aaron  was."  (Hebrews,  chap.  V.,  v.  4.)  Then 
aspirants  to  the  priesthood  will  be  mindful  of  these  words  of 
Jesus  Christ,  "  You  have  not  chosen  me :  but  I  have  chosen  you ; 


374  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

and  have  appointed  you,  that  you  should  go,  and  should  bring 
forth  fruit;  and  your  fruit  should  remain."  (St.  John,  chap. 
XV.,  v.  16.) 

The  laity  furnish  the  money  and  they  are  entitled  to  know 
what  disposition  is  made  of  it.  Unbridled  control  of  the  rev- 
enues of  a  parish  places  a  great  temptation  in  the  way  of  even 
a  decent  rector,  and  if  he  is  a  degenerate  it  simply  gives  him 
unbounded  means  for  rascality. 

In  this  connection  I  quote  from  a  work  of  The  Very  Rev. 
James  Keatinge,  Canon  and  Administrator  of  St.  George's 
Cathedral,  Southwark,  England,  and  Diocesan  Inspector  of 
Schools : 

One  of  the  first  difficulties  that  will  beset  a  man  after 
his  ordination  is  money,  and  usually  his  first  failure  consists 
in  the  improper  use  he  makes  of  it.  (The  Priest,  His  Char- 
acter and  Work,  p.  no.) 

Canon  Keatinge  in  this  able  work  considers  at  length  the 
priest's  attitude  towards  money,  and,  among  other  things,  says : 

The  three  dangers  that  I  have  called  the  wine  problem, 
the  woman  problem,  and  the  money  problem,  attack  priests 
in  varying  degrees.  Speaking  generally,  and  with  large  limi- 
tations, I  am  inclined  to  say  that  the  men  that  are  not  merely 
attacked  but  wrecked  by  wine  or  women  are  the  weaklings  of 
Christ's  priests ;  the  men  that  money  wrecks  are  the  strong 
men,  the  men  of  grit  and  derring-do  on  whom  the  Bishop  has 
a  legitimate  right  to  count  for  good  yeoman  service  in  the 
Church's  cause.  (The  Priest,  His  Character  and  Work,  p. 
112.) 

There  are  rectors  in  America  who  deliberately  keep  their 
parishes  in  debt  so  as  to  have  an  excuse  for  incessantly  demand- 
ing money  from  the  people,  and  they  never  account  for  the 
money  which  they  get ;  and  when  they  die  they  leave  comfor- 
table estates  to  relatives  and  favorites,  and  heavily  encum- 
bered parishes  to  deluded  parishioners.  Their  estates  often 
become  the  subject  of  bitter  litigation  and  scandal. 


CATHOLIC  EMANCIPATION.  375 

The  rectors  of  parishes  exercise  tyrannical  powers  over 
their  parishioners.  The  laity  are  given  no  voice  in  the  parish 
management.  They  dare  not  ask  a  question  in  reference  to 
the  expenditure  of  money  which  was  given  to  their  pastor  for 
parish  requirements.  If  they  grow  inquisitive  and  offend  their 
rector,  woe  is  theirs  when  they  want  the  rites  of  the  Church. 
Their  rector  controls  spiritual  consolations.  To  unquestion- 
ingly  pay  money  to  their  priests  is  the  chief  privilege  of  the 
Catholic  laity.  This  is  antagonistic  to  the  genius  of  the  Ameri- 
can democracy,  on  whose  corner  stone  is  emblazoned,  "  Tax- 
ation without  representation  is  tyranny." 

If  political  representation  is  necessary  for  the  taxation 
of  Catholic  citizens  for  the  support  of  the  State,  why  should 
not  ecclesiastical  representation  be  a  prerequisite  for  the  tax- 
ation of  Catholic  laymen  for  the  support  of  the  Church? 

Think  of  it,  Catholic  laymen,  you  have  no  voice  even  as  to 
the  secular  studies  of  your  children  in  the  parochial  school. 
Why  are  you  denied  any  voice  in  the  control  of  your  parish? 
It  is  because  ecclesiastics  know  that  such  a  concession  would 
put  an  end  to  their  grafting  and  immorality.  Laymen,  why 
do  you  not  think?  Laymen,  why  do  you  not  act? 

The  Catholic  people  are  not  stingy.  They  give  at  the  cost 
of  great  self-denial.  They  give  far  more  than  enough  to  de- 
cently maintain  and  to  properly  extend  the  work  of  their 
Church.  They,  in  fact,  give  altogether  too  much.  They  are 
laden  with  burdens  which  they  should  not  bear.  If  their  con- 
tributions were  honestly  and  economically  used  the  demands 
for  money  would  be  greatly  lessened.  If  the  laity  were  in  con- 
trol of  the  parish  temporalities  there  would  be  a  painstaking 
supervision  of  them ;  the  collections  would  harmonize  with  -the 
parish  needs ;  there  would  be  an  honest  spending ;  there  would 
be  a  full  accounting;  and  the  hard  earned  money  of  the  good 
Catholic  people  would  not  go  to  the  enrichment  of  gamblers 
and  harlots.  Not  only  would  the  financial  abuses  be  rectified 


376  THE  PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

but  the  laity  would  be  raised  from  religious  serfdom  to 
ecclesiastical  freedom. 

What  need  has  a  Catholic  priest  for  more  than  food, 
raiment,  shelter  and  a  trifle  for  incidentals?  Without  a  wife 
to  care  for  and  without  children  to  rear  and  educate  and  start 
in  life,  why  should  a  priest  have  the  income  of  a  wealthy 
Catholic  layman  who  bears  all  of  these  responsibilities?  Why 
should  a  wifeless  and  childless  pastor,  who  often  is  traveling 
a  large  part  of  the  year  for  his  "  health,"  receive  annually 
many  times  more  money  than  an  honest  Catholic  layman  who 
has  to  coin  the  hard  work  of  his  hands  into  a  livelihood  for  his 
wife,  for  his  children  and  for  himself,  and  in  addition  has  to 
support  the  Church? 

Laymen,  why  do  you  not  think  ?  I  know  what  I  am  talk- 
ing about,  and  when  I  tell  you  that  priests  as  business  men 
are  thoroughly  incompetent  I  am  only  telling  you  the  absolute 
truth.  Stop  for  a  moment  to  consider!  Do  you  realize  the 
magnitude  of  the  business  interests  involved  in  parishes  and 
in  dioceses  and  archdioceses  ?  Think  of  the  buildings  that  are 
erected,  the  contracts  let,  etc.,  etc.  The  handling  of  money 
is  secular  business.  Now,  Catholic  business  men,  would  you 
trust  your  business  to  employees  who  never  had  any  business 
training?  Would  you  permit  your  books  to  be  kept  by  indi- 
viduals who  know  nothing  about  bookkeeping?  What  would 
you  think  of  a  proposition  to  entrust  your  business  to  men  who 
are  untrained  and  who  are  fond  of  wine,  women  and  gambling, 
and  who  would  never  permit  you  to  look  over  their  work? 
This  is  not  an  extravagant  illustration,  for  it  is  your  money  that 
the  priests  handle  by  virtue  of  their  relation  to  ecclesiastical 
affairs.  Think  of  the  prominent  Catholic  business  men  of 
America  whose  enterprises  engage  millions  of  capital  and  em- 
ploy thousands  of  workmen !  think  how  thoroughly  they  have 
been  trained  in  business  matters  and  what  thorough  training 
they  demand  in  their  employees!  Is  it  not  strange  that  these 
prominent  Catholic  laymen,  who  love  their  Church  and  with 


CATHOLIC  EMANCIPATION.  377 

lavish  liberality  respond  to  calls  for  money  in  its  behalf,  should 
be  denied  all  voice  in  the  handling  of  the  cash  they  contribute  ? 
Secular  business  of  lay  Catholics  requires  trained  business  men, 
and  none  other  are  hired :  the  secular  business  of  the  Church, 
which  is  at  least  just  as  important  as  the  secular  affairs  of  any 
commercial  institution,  is  wholly  entrusted  to  ecclesiastics  who 
are  untrained  in  business,  and  the  trained  Catholic  business 
men  are  entirely  ignored. 

I  do  not  exaggerate  clerical  ignorance  of  secular  business. 
Some  of  the  most  pious  and  zealous  dignitaries  of  the  Catholic 
Church  have  lamented  and  sought  to  remedy  it.  When  the 
active  life  of  the  great  Bishop  Ullathorne,  of  England,  came 
to  an  end  by  retirement  in  1888  his  clergy  gave  him  a  fare- 
well address,  and  in  telling  of  the  reply  of  His  Grace,  The 
Very  Rev.  Canon  Keatinge  says: 

What  think  you,  in  replying  to  this,  did  he  take  for  his 
parting  counsel,  looking  back  on  his  reign  of  two-and- forty- 
years  ?  What  would  help  them  most,  these  men  whom  he  had 
begotten  in  Christ  Jesus  and  was  now  handing  over  to  an- 
other ?  He  had  written  on  the  endowments  of  man,  on  humili- 
ty; he  had  discoursed  learnedly  on  patience;  he  had  told  the 
stirring  history  of  the  days  of  "  Papal  aggression  "  and  his 
own  share  in  the  creation  of  the  new  hierarchy,  and  now  what 
should  his  parting  instruction  be,  knowing  that  they  should 
hear  his  voice  no  more?  Taking  the  words  of  a  great  saint, 
his  last  message  to  the  clergy  of  Birmingham  was :  "  If  the 
temporalities  go  wrong,  the  spiritualities  are  sure  to  get  into 
disorder."  (The  Priest,  His  Character  and  Work,  by  James 
Keatinge,  Canon,  etc.,  pp.  112,  113.) 

The  Catholic  Church  in  America  has  had  a  most  loyal 
support  from  its  female  members — particularly  from  those 
who  "  work  out,"  and  from  those  who  earn  their  livelihoods 
in  other  honest  occupations.  These  honest,  hard-work- 
ing, frugal,  pious  and  faithful  women  have  given  millions 
of  dollars  to  priests  and  prelates.  Many  of  the  splendid 
church  edifices  in  the  large  cities  could  not  have  been  built 


-  THE    PAROCHIAL    SCHOOL, 

without  the  financial  offerings  of  these  noble  Catholic  women, 
who  gave  their  weekly  earnings  month  in  and  month  out,  year 
in  and  year  out,  denying  themselves  necessaries.  But  how  are 
these  women  regarded  and  designated  by  priests  and  prelates? 
I  have  heard  Catholic  ecclesiastics  call  them  "  good  milkers." 
I  resent  this  contemptible  designation.  -I  think  that  a  faithful 
Catholic  girl,  who  earns  an  honest  living,  is  entitled  to  as  much 
respect  as  the  richest  woman  in  the  Nation. 

Catholic  women,  why  do  you  not  think?  Why  should 
there  be  such  a  constant  cry  for  money  by  priests  who  were 
wedded  to  poverty  and  chastity  by  the  holy  vows  of  their  ordi- 
nation ? 

Let  us  consider  some  of  the  evils  resulting  from  unre- 
strained priestly  control  of  parish  temporalities.  If  a  priest  be- 
comes lax  in  his  religious  life  he  is  subject  to  a  fearful  tempta- 
tion to  plunge  headlong  into  sin  by  the  ease  with  which  he  can 
secure  all  the  money  he  wants  for  the  gratification  of  his  lusts. 
He  is  his  own  solicitor,  collector,  bookkeeper  and  cashier !  He 
audits  his  own  accounts.  He  is  responsible  to  himself  alone. 
The  people  pay — he  spends.  They  are  never  honestly  told 
what  becomes  of  their  contributions,  and  they  dare  not  ask. 
Debts,  often  stupendous,  are  incurred  without  their  being  in 
the  slightest  degree  consulted;  nevertheless,  they  must  provide 
the  money.  "  Give  me  money !  Money !  Money !  "  is  the  most 
frequent  prayer  of  the  sordid  Catholic  pastor.  He  gets  the 
money.  Who  finally  gets  it?  The  Pope?  No!  The  Arch- 
bishop or  Bishop?  Well,  not  if  the  pastor  can  help  it.  The 
parish?  As  little  as  possible.  Schools,  colleges,  universities, 
hospitals  and  asylums?  They  do  not.  God  Almighty?  No, 
but  generally  the  Devil  through  Bacchus,  Venus  and  gambling. 

A  supreme  need  of  the  Catholic  Church  is  the  emanci- 
pation of  its  laity  from  ecclesiastical  bondage.  The  emanci- 
pation of  the  Catholic  laymen  means  purification,  inspiration 
and  expansion  for  the  Church, 


CATHOLIC  EMANCIPATION.  379 

A  Bishop  or  an  Archbishop,  by  virtue  of  his  temporal  and 
spiritual  powers,  can  oppress  the  clergy  under  him  at  will, 
unless  they  have  wealth  or  a  knowledge  of  his  former 
misconduct.  He  reduces  them  to  a  state  of  abject  sycophancy. 
Independence  of  thought  and  action  is  killed  before  it  is 
born.  He  can  fearlessly  treat  the  laity  with  superlative  con- 
tempt. He  can  limit  the  laymen  to  the  enjoyment  of  but 
one  course,  namely,  "  Pay  up  and  shut  up !" 

But,  generally  speaking,  a  sad  effect  of  his  monetary 
power  is  seen  in  spiritual  things.  The  control  of  immense 
wealth  and  the  wielding  of  gigantic  power  lead  neces-' 
sarily  to  worldliness.  No  individual,  priest  or  layman,  can  be 
a  multimillionaire  and  escape  the  dangers  of  wealth.  Great 
wealth  begets  a  great  desire  for  greater  wealth.  There  is  pro- 
duced a  hungering  and  a  thirsting,  not  for  righteousness,  but 
for  filthy  lucre.  Almighty  dollars  take  precedence  over  im- 
mortal souls.  Politics  are  played,  private  speculations  are 
prosecuted,  and  insistent  demands  are  made  upon  the  faithful 
for  larger  and  larger  contributions  for  the  work  of  religion  (?). 
Outwardly  there  will  be  the  form  of  godliness;  but  inwardly 
there  will  be  selfishness,  greed,  lust  and  impiety.  Os- 
tentation will  not  be  absent.  A  social  state  will  be  sought 
which  is  more  becoming  to  an  earthly  monarch  than  to  a  lineal 
descendant  of  St.  Peter  the  fisherman.  Nothing  less  will 
satisfy  than  palatial  summer  and  winter  residences,  sumptuous 
furnishings,  a  luxuriant  table  and  royal  raiment.  Jesus,  Mary 
and  Joseph  and  the  Apostles  lived  in  simplicity  and  penury. 
American  Catholic  bishops  live  in  ostentation  and  in  wealth. 
Truly  the  servant  is  greater  than  his  Lord.  Clerical  luxury 
was  condemned  by  the  Apostles,  the  Saints  and  the  heroes  of 
the  Church.  Ecclesiastical  extravagance,  pomp  and  splendor 
never  had  their  genesis  at  the  cross  of  Christ.  They  are  the 
concomitants  of  worldliness.  They  originate  in  selfishness 
and  are  fostered  by  unrestrained  monetary  power.  They  bear 
the  image  and  superscription  of  the  Devil  and  not  of  God. 


380  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

The  possession  of  great  wealth  and  the  enjoyment  of 
princely  livings  by  prelates  have  a  most  evil  influence  upon  all 
the  subordinate  clergy.  The  priests  envy  the  power  and  the 
luxury  of  their  superiors;  they  become  infected  with  love  of 
money,  they  seek  it  persistently  and  they  spend  it  prodigally. 
A  clergy  is  bred  which  is  sordid  in  desire,  tyrannical  in  rule, 
selfish  in  aim,  extravagant  in  taste,  worldly  in  life  and  infidel 
at  heart.  To  place  priests  in  humiliating  dependence  upon 
their  Bishop  for  the  tenure  of  their  respective  parishes  makes 
them,  of  necessity,  his  sycophants  and  subservient  agents. 

The  lines  of  Butler  seem  very  appropriate  in  this  con- 
nection : 

"  Authority  intoxicates, 
And  makes  mere  sots  of  magistrates; 
The  fumes  of  it  invade  the  brain, 
And  make  men  giddy,  proud  and  vain; 
By  this  the  fool  commands  the  wise, 
The  noble  with  the  base  complies, 
The  sot  assumes  the  rule  of  wit, 
And  cowards  make  the  brave  submit." 

If  Rome  should  forthwith  take  out  of  the  hands  of  Bishops 
or  Archbishops  all  Church  properties,  such  action  would  only 
be  putting  into  effect  one  of  Her  rules  for  "  The  absolute 
ownership  of  church  property  by  the  civil  title  being  in  the 
person  of  the  bishop  alone,  is  contrary  to  the  spirit  and  the 
laws  of  the  Church."  (Baart's  Legal  Formulary,  p.  69).  To 
make  a  Bishop  a  "  corporation  sole  "  does  not  meet  the  re- 
quirements of  the  Church.  Corporations  for  profit  have  their 
boards  of  directors ;  sects  in  America  have  their  boards  of  trus- 
tees: Why  should  not  the  temporalities  of  a  diocese  or  an 
archdiocese  be  in  the  control  of  a  similar  legal  body?  Di- 
vested of  property  responsibilities  the  Bishops  and  Arch- 
bishops would  be  eliminated  from  the  political  arena;  their 
worldliness  would  be  curbed;  their  greed  for  gold  stifled; 
and  the  spiritual  interests  of  their  people  would  be  their  only 


CATHOLIC  EMANCIPATION.  381 

care.     Who  can  measure  the  resultant  influence  for  good  upon 
the  priests  under  them? 

The  holding  of  all  the  property  of  the  Church  in  a  Diocese 
or  Archdiocese,  by  "  a  corporation  sole  "  who  is  a  Bishop  or 
an  Archbishop  is  indicative  of  a  possible  deception  of  the  pub- 
lic or  a  wrong  to  the  .individual  parishes.  What  if  there 
should  be  a  maladministration  of  some  financial  character  by 
the  "  corporation  sole,"  involving  such  corporation  in  great 
monetary  losses — would  the  creditors  be  able  to  levy  upon  the 
various  parish  properties  to  satisfy  their  legal  claims  ?  If  they 
attempted  to  do  so  would  they  not  be  met  with  the  objection 
that  the  parish  properties  vested  in  said  "  corporation  sole  " 
as  trustee  for  the  individual  parishes,  and  that  in  consequence 
they  could  not  be  levied  upon  to  meet  the  claims  against  the 
said  "  corporation  sole  ?"  If  a  Catholic  Bishop  as  "  corpor- 
ation sole  "  is  trustee  for  the  individual  diocesan  parishes,  is 
it  right  to  use  that  trusteeship  as  a  basis  for  the  extension  to 
it  of  unlimited  credit?  If  said  corporation  is  a  trustee  for  the 
various  parishes  collectively,  is  it  right  to  place  all  the  prop- 
erty in  the  diocese  in  jeopardy  by  a  not  impossible  malad- 
ministration, through  accident  or  wickedness  or  sickness,  .of 
the  affairs  of  such  corporation?  If  a  Catholic  Bishop  as 
"  corporation  sole  "  is  not  a  trustee  for  the  various  individual 
parishes  in  his  diocese,  then  the  said  parishes  are  without  any 
identity  in  the  eyes  of  the  civil  law,  and  the  good  people  of  those 
parishes,  who  contribute  prodigally  of  their  hard  earned  money, 
might  see  the  fruits  of  their  sacrifices  used  to  satisfy  debts  in 
the  incurring  of  which  they  had  no  possible  interest.  The 
career  of  Archbishop  Purceil  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  is  full  of  les- 
sons for  the  Catholic  people  respecting  ecclesiastics  holding 
the  title  of  Church  property. 

Laymen  were  formerly  Trustees. 

Catholic  laymen  formerly  served  as  parish  trustees,  and 
I  now    quote    from  the  work  of  Rev.  P.  A.  Baart,  a  Roman 


382  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

Catholic  canonist  and  the  irremovable  rector  of  St.  Mary's 
Church,  Marshall,  Michigan,  entitled,  "  Tenure  of  Catholic 
Church  Property  in  the  United  States  of  America,"  in  which 
he  says : 

(Section)  28.  On  June  9,  1784,  the  Catholic  Church 
in  the  United  States  was  organized  as  a  distinct  body  by  decree 
of  the  S.  Propaganda  and  Very  Rev.  Dr.  John  Carroll  was 
appointed  Prefect  Apostolic.  In  his  report  to  the  Propaganda 
dated  Feb.  27,  1785,  Very  Rev.  Dr.  John  Carroll  says :  "  Priests 
here  are  maintained  chiefly  from  the  proceeds  of  the  (Jesuit) 
estates;  elsewhere  by  the  liberality  of  Catholics.  There  is 
properly  no  ecclesiastical  property  here;  for  the  property  by 
which  the  priests  are  supported,  is  held  in  the  names  of  in- 
dividuals and  transferred  by  will  to  devisees.  This  course 
was  rendered  necessary  when  the  Catholic  religion  was 
cramped  here  by  laws,  and  no  remedy  has  yet  been  found 
for  this  difficulty,  although  we  made  an  earnest  effort  last 
year/' 

(Section)  32.  Soon  after  the  revolution  of  1776  another 
method  was  introduced  and  prevailed  quite  extensively.  The 
congregations,  as  such,  petitioned  the  legislature  of  the  State 
for  recognition  each  as  a  body  corporate.  This  was  done  not 
against  the  constituted  Church  authority  but  with  its  knowl- 
edge, sanction  and  advice.  "  The  Venerable  Archbishop  Car- 
roll, who  himself  took  part  in  the  revolution  by  which  Ameri- 
can independence  was  won,"  so  writes  Archbishop  Hughes, 
"  wished  to  assimilate  as  far  as  possible,  the  outward  adminis- 
tration of  Catholic  Church  property  in  a  way  that  would 
harmonize  with  the  democratic  principles  on  which  the  new 
government  was  founded.  With  this  view  he  authorized  and 
instituted  the  system  of  lay  trustees  in  Catholic  congregations. 
Regarded  a  priori  no  system  could  appear  less  objectionable 
or  more  likely  both  to  secure  advantages  to  those  congre- 
gations, and  at  the  same  time  to  recommend  the  Catholic  re- 
ligion to  the  liberal  consideration  of  the  Protestant  sentiment 
of  the  country.  It  would,  he  thought,  relieve  the  priest  from 
the  necessity  and  painfulness  of  having  to  appeal  from  the 
altar  on  questions  connected  with  money,  touching  either  the 
means  of  his  own  support,  repairs  of  the  church  or  other  meas- 
ures essential  to  the  welfare  of  his  congregation.  It  would  at 


CATHOLIC  EMANCIPATION.  383 

the  same  time  secure  the  property  by  the  protection  of  law 
for  the  perpetual  uses  for  which  it  had  been  set  apart  and 
consecrated.  It  would  be  a  bond  of  union  between  the  priest 
and  the  people." 

(Section)  33.  But  proper  care  was  not  manifested  in  the 
articles  of  incorporation,  nor  were  any  definite  rules  adopted 
in  the  beginning  to  prevent  infraction  of  ecclesiastical  dis- 
cipline. Hence  in  some  places  occurred  lamentable  scandals 
and  such  rebellion  against  episcopal  authority  as  drew  down 
excommunication.  It  is  a  notorious  fact,  however,  that  much 
of  this  trouble  was  caused  by  the  absence  of  proper  law,  by 
the  selfish  interference  and  advice  of  clergymen,  by  the  coun- 
tenance, at  least  indirect,  of  some  foreign  bishops. 

(Section)  45.  In  1822,  on  August  22,  Pope  Pius  VII 
issued  a  brief,  "  Non  sine  magno,"  addressed  to  Archbishop 
Marechal,  his  suffragans,  all  boards  of  trustees  and  the  faith- 
ful in  general,  in  which  he  condemned  Father  Hogan  and 
criticised  the  pretensions  of  some  trustees.  The  Pope  says: 
"  There  is  another  circumstance  which  affords  continual  cause 
of  discord  and  contention,  not  only  in  Philadelphia,  but  also 
in  many  other  places  in  the  United  States  of  America;  the 
immoderate  and  unlimited  right,  which  trustees  or  the  adminis- 
trators of  the  temporal  properties  of  the  churches  assume, 
independently  of  the  diocesan  bishops.  Indeed,  unless  this 
be  circumscribed  by  certain  regulations,  it  may  prove  a  per- 
petual source  of  abuses  and  dissensions.  Trustees  then  ought 
to  bear  in  mind  that  the  properties  which  have  been  consecrated 
to  divine  worship  for  the  support  of  the  Church  and  the  main- 
tenance of  its  ministers,  fall  under  the  power  of  the  Church; 
and  since  the  bishops,  by  divine  appointment,  preside  over 
their  respective  churches,  they  cannot  by  any  means  be  ex- 
cluded from  the  care,  superintendence  and  administration  of 
these  properties.  Whence  the  holy  Council  of  Trent,  sess.  29, 
cap.  9,  de  Ref.,  after  having  established  that  the  administrators 
of  the  edifice  of  every  church,  even  of  a  cathedral,  and  of  all 
pious  institutions,  were  bound  every  year  to  render  to  the  ordi- 
nary (the  bishop)  an  account  of  their  administration,  expressly 
ordered  that  although,  according  to  the  particular  usages  of 
some  countries,  the  account  of  the  administration  was  to  be 
rendered  to  other  persons  appointed  for  that  purpose,  never- 
theless the  ordinary  must  be  called  in  together  with  them.  If 


384  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

the  trustees,  in  conformity  to  this  decree  were  to  administer 
the  temporalities  of  the  church  in  union  of  mind  and  heart  with 
the  bishop,  everything  would  be  performed  peaceably  and 
according  to  order. 

But  that  trustees  and  laymen  should  arrogate  to  themselves 
the  right,  as  has  sometimes  happened  in  these  countries,  of 
establishing  for  pastors,  priests  destitute  of  legal  faculties  and 
even  not  unfrequently  bound  by  censures — as  it  appears  was 
lately  the  case  with  regard  to  Hogan — and  also  of  removing 
them  at  their  pleasure,  and  of  bestowing  the  revenues  upon 
whom  they  please,  is  a  practice  new  and  unheard  of  in  the 
Church.  And  if  these  things  have  been  performed  in  the 
manner  in  which  it  has  been  announced  to  us  how  could  so  great 
a  subversion  of  laws,  not  only  ecclesiastical,  but  divine  also, 
be  borne  with?  For  in  that  case  the  Church  would  be  gov- 
erned, not  by  bishops,  but  by  laymen ;  the  shepherd  would  be 
made  subject  to  the  flock,  and  laymen  would  usurp  that  power 
which  was  given  by  Almighty  God  to  bishops.  But  those  who 
are  desirous  of  remaining  in  the  bosom  of  their  mother,  the 
Holy  Catholic  Church,  and  of  providing  for  their  eternal  sal- 
vation, are  bound  religiously  to  observe  the  laws  of  the  uni- 
versal Church;  and  as  the  civil  authorities  must  be  obeyed  in 
those  things  which  are  temporal,  so  also  in  those  which  are 
spiritual  must  the  faithful  comply  with  the  laws  of  the  Church, 
not  confounding  the  spiritual  with  the  temporal.  In  order  then 
to  avoid  the  dissensions  and  disturbances  which  frequently 
arise  from  the  unbounded  power  of  trustees,  we  have  provided, 
venerable  brothers,  that  certain  regulations  and  instructions 
concerning  the  choice  and  direction  of  trustees  should  be  trans- 
mitted to  you,  to  which,  we  are  confident,  the  trustees  will 
thoroughly  conform  themselves.  If  these  be  observed,  all 
things,  we  trust,  will  be  settled  rightly,  and  peace  and  tran- 
quillity will  again  flourish  in  these  regions." 

(Section)  46.  The  Holy  See  with  its  usual  prudence 
did  not  condemn  the  trustee  system  as  such,  but  it  reprobated 
the  immoderate  claims  of  the  trustees  in  temporal  affairs  of 
the  Church  independent  of  the  bishop.  It  also  denied  any 
power  in  them  to  appoint  or  remove  priests.  To  limit  the  un- 
bounded power  claimed  by  some  trustees,  the  Holy  See  drew 
up  and  forwarded  certain  regulations  concerning  the  choice 
and  direction  of  trustees,  which  if  followed,  all  things  would 


CATHOLIC  EMANCIPATION.  385 

be  settled  rightly  and  peace  would  reign  in  the  Church  of  the 
United  States.  Instead  of  a  condemnation  this  is  rather  an 
approval  of  the  trustee  system  when  modified  and  continued 
under  regulations  given  by  Rome.  The  Holy  See  and  later 
the  Baltimore  councils  require,  I,  That  no  one  be  chosen  a 
trustee  who  either  at  the  time  of  election  or  just  before  is  a 
member  of  a  secret  society  or  has  not  made  his  Easter  duty. 
2,  The  trustees  must  well  understand  that  it  is  entirely  wrong 
for  them  either  to  transfer  to  their  own  use  on  any  pretext 
even  the  smallest  part  of  the  goods  of  the  Church,  or  to  trans- 
fer them  to  others  except  with  permission  of  the  bishop  and  with 
observance  of  the  apostolic  constitutions  on  the  alienation  of 
Church  goods.  3,  Excepting  the  ordinary  expenses,  the  trus- 
tees are  not  allowed  to  spend  money,  over  three  hundred  dol- 
lars unless  the  bishop  consents  in  writing.  4,  The  trustees  must 
know  that  the  bishop  has  the  right  of  nominating  and  creating 
the  pastor  of  the  church  and  of  keeping  him  in  office  or  not. 
Likewise  it  is  the  right  of  the  bishop  alone  to  assign  a  certain 
sum  of  money  to  pastors  for  their  support;  and  it  is  not  al- 
lowed the  trustees  to  retain,  decrease  or  increase  such  stipend. 

5,  It  is  the  right  of  the  pastor  to  designate  the  organist,  sing- 
ers, sacristan,  sexton  or  janitor,  school  teacher  where  there  is 
a  school,  and  others  who  are  to  serve  the  altar  or  the  Church. 

6,  Let  not  the  trustees,  without  consulting  the  pastor,  make  any 
regulation  or  rule  for  the  parishioners.     If,  however,  any  dis- 
agreement should  occur  between  the  pastor  and  trustees  when 
considering  what  ought  to  be  done  and  they  cannot  themselves 
settle    the    matter,    the    bishop  will  settle  the  controversy,  to 
whose  judgment  and  decision  all  will  render  obedience. 

(Section)  71.  To  crush  out  the  uncatholic  spirit  of 
trustees  Bishop  England  drew  up  "  The  Constitution  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  churches  of  the  States  of  North  Carolina, 
South  Carolina  and  Georgia,  which  are  comprised  in  the  dio- 
cese of  Charleston  and  province  of  Baltimore,  U.  S.  A."  The 
object  was  "  to  lay  down  the  general  principles  of  the  law  of 
the  Catholic  Church  and  to  show  their  special  bearing  in  the 
most  usual  cases ;  and  then  upon  the  mode  of  raising,  vesting 
and  managing  Church  property."  The  constitution  began  by 
a  statement  of  Catholic  doctrine.  It  recognized  the  bishop, 
his  authority  to  make  parishes  or  districts  and  to  appoint 
pastors ;  also  the  authority  of  the  vicar  general  during  his  ab- 


386  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

sence  or  a  vacancy  in  the  see.  The  faithful  disavowed  any 
right  or  claim  in  the  laity  to  subject  the  ministry  of  the  Church 
to  their  control  or  to  interfere  in  the  regulation  of  its  sacred 
duty.  The  constitution  acknowledged  that  the  power  was  in 
the  bishop  of  appointing  clergymen  to  the  different  districts 
and*  of  suspending  them  and  that  no  priest  was  to  be  recognized 
as  such  whose  powers  were  recalled.  "  The  churches,  ceme- 
teries, lands,  houses,  funds  or  other  property  belonging  to 
any  particular  district  shall  be  made  the  property  of  the  vestry 
of  that  district  in  trust  for  the  same."  No  vestry  was  to  have 
power  to  sell,  encumber,  build  or  rebuild  any  church  without 
the  consent  of  the  bishop,  nor  could  Church  rates  or  burial 
fees  be  fixed  except  with  similar  approval.  Money  was  to 
be  raised  specifically  for  the  support  of  priests  in  parochial 
districts  and  to  be  paid  to  them.  Every  member  was  to  pay 
fifty  cents  quarterly  for  the  general  fund  of  the  diocese,  which 
was  for  the  erection  and  maintenance  of  the  cathedral,  the 
education  of  candidates  for  the  priesthood,  the  support  of 
missionaries  and  churches  in  poor  portions  of  the  diocese, 
the  creation  of  a  fund  for  infirm  priests  and  for  diocesan  in- 
stitutions. Diocesan  property  was  to  be  held  by  "  The  Gen- 
eral Trustees  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  of  the  Diocese 
of  Charleston,"  the  board  consisting  of  the  bishop,  the  vicar 
general,  with  five  priests  and  twelve  laymen  to  be  chosen  by 
the  laymen  at  the  annual  convention.  There  was  to  be  an  an- 
nual convention  of  the  bishop  and  clergy,  with  lay  delegates 
from  the  parish  districts  chosen  by  the  respective  vestries; 
but  the  powers  of  the  annual  convention  were  strictly  limited 
to  matters  regarding  the  general  fund  and  its  expenditures. 
Members  lost  their  right  by  defection  from  the  doctrine  or 
opposition  to  the  discipline  of  the  Church,  by  encouraging  any 
unauthorized  clergyman,  by  being  canonically  censured  or  by 
refusing  to  pay  regular  contributions. 

(Section)  74.  In  the  First  Provincial  Council  of  Balti- 
more, held  in  1829,  the  bishops  in  decree  five  say:  "  Since  lay 
trustees  have  too  often  abused  the  power  given  them  by  the 
civil  law  to  the  great  detriment  of  religion  and  not  without 
scandal  to  the  faithful,  we  very  greatly  desire  that  in  the  fu- 
ture no  church  shall  be  built  or  consecrated,  unless  it  shall 
have  been  assigned  by  written  instrument  to  the  bishop  in 
whose  diocese  it  is  to  be  built,  wherever  this  can  be  done ;  the 


CATHOLIC  EMANCIPATION.  387 

privileges  of  regulars  being  observed  according  to  the  decrees 
and  constitutions  of  the  Roman  Pontiffs.  However,  by  this 
decree  we  do  not  desire  to  interfere  with  the  method  which 
the  bishop  of  Charleston  now  follows  in  his  diocese." 

This  decree  practically  introduced  a  new  method  of  hold- 
ing parish  property,  for  up  to  this  time  most  churches  had 
been  held  either  by  trustees  or  by  the  priest  in  charge,  only 
a  few  being  in  the  individual  name  of  the  bishop. 

(Section)  76.  The  bishops  soon  went  further  and  in 
diocesan  statutes  prohibited  any  priest  from  holding  parish 
property  in  his  own  name.  All  was  to  be  put  in  the  name  of 
the  bishop.  Regulations  to  this  effect  are  found  in  all  dio- 
cesan synods  held  between  the  years  1840  and  1860,  which 
continue  still  in  force.  This  was  in  consequence  of  a  decree 
of  the  Fourth  Provincial  Council  of  Baltimore,  then  including 
all  bishops  of  the  United  States.  The  council  warns  all  bish- 
ops to  attend  to  the  security  of  Church  property  and  to  seek 
the  protection  of  civil  laws  for  incorporation  where  possible, 
always  saving  the  rights  of  the  bishops.  If  such  corporation 
cannot  be  obtained  then  the  bishops  are  carefully  to  provide 
by  will  that  Church  property  may  be  protected  from  alienation. 
The  bishops  further  are  warned  not  to  allow  priests  to  retain 
in  their  own  name  any  property  given  by  the  faithful  for  pub- 
lic church  purposes  and  confided  to  them. 

(Section)  77.  Thus  we  have  the  pendulum  swinging  to 
the  other  extreme.  At  the  beginning  of  the  century  most  of 
Church  property  was  held  by  lay  trustees;  in  fifty  years  there 
was  scarcely  any  which  was  not  in  the  name  of  the  bishops. 

Why  did  laymen  cease  to  be  parish  trustees?  The  fore- 
going quotation  says  in  effect  that  it  was  because  they  abused 
the  trust.  I  assert  that  it  was  because  Church  dignitaries  saw 
that  a  continuance  of  lay  trustees  meant  the  ousting  of  drunk- 
en, grafting  and  immoral  priests  and  prelates. 

To  take  away  from  the  people  the  control  of  Church 
temporalities  and  to  place  it  in  the  arbitrary  disposition 
of  irresponsible  ecclesiastics,  means  the  effectual  overthrow 
of  the  first  principles  of  religious  liberty,  and  it  is  the  favorite 
expedient  of  all  ecclesiastical  despotisms. 


388  THE    PAROCHIAL    SCHOOL. 

Laymen,  is  it  not  high  time  for  you  to  think?  Is  it  not 
high  time  for  you  to  act? 

An  Impending  Explosion. 

Some  day,  if  conditions  are  not  changed,  the  great  body  of 
the  Catholic  people  will  discover  that  unrestricted  priestly  con- 
trol of  parish  moneys  leads  pastors  to  luxury,  wine  and  wom- 
en, and  then  there  will  be  an  explosion  which  will  jar  the 
world. 

CATHOLICS  SHOULD  STUDY  THE  CATHOLIC  BIBLE,  PARTICU- 
LARLY THE  FOUR  GOSPELS  AND  THE  ACTS  OF 
THE  APOSTLES. 

I  earnestly  urge  the  Catholic  people  to  become  devout 
students  of  the  Catholic  Bible.  In  this  connection  I  quote 
the  following  weighty  words  from  the  Encyclical  of  Leo  XIII. , 
entitled  "  The  Study  of  Holy  Scriptures,"  dated  November 
18,  1893 : 

Among1  the  reasons  for  which  the  Holy  Scripture  is  so 
worthy  of  commendation — in  addition  to  its  own  excellence 
and  to  the  homage  which  we  owe  to  God's  Word — the  chief 
of  all  is,  the  innumerable  benefits  of  which  it  is  the  source ; 
according  to  the  infallible  testimony  of  the  Holy  Ghost  him- 
self, who  says :  All  Scripture  inspired  of.  God  is  profitable  to 
teach,  to  reprove,  to  correct,  to  instruct  in  justice:  that  the 
man  of  God  may  be  perfect,  furnished  to  every  good  work. 
.  .  .  Nowhere  is  there  anything  more  full  or  more  ex- 
press on  the  subject  of  the  Savior  of  the  world  than  is  to  be 
found  in  the  whole  range  of  the  Bible.  As  St.  Jerome  says, 
to  be  ignorant  of  the  Scripture  is  not  to  know  Christ.  In  its 
pages  His  Image  stands  out,  living  and  breathing ;  diffusing 
everywhere  around  consolation  in  trouble,  encouragement  to 
virtue,  and  attraction  to  the  love  of  God.  And  as  to  the 
Church,  her  institutions,  her  nature,  her  office  and  her  gifts, 
we  find  in  the  Holy  Scripture  so  many  references  and  so  many 
ready  and  convincing  arguments  that,  as  St.  Jerome  again  most 
truly  says,  "  A  man  who  is  well  grounded  in  the  testimonies  of 
the  Scripture  is  the  bulwark  of  the  church."  (The  Great  En- 
cyclical Letters  of  Leo  XIII.,  pp.  273,  274.) 


CATHOLIC  EMANCIPATION.  389 

Every  Catholic  should  own  and  study  a  Catholic  Bible. 
It  is  a  sad  reflection  upon  our  love  for  the  Holy  Scriptures 
that  Protestants  set  so  much  in  store  by  having  a  Bible  and 
Catholics  so  little,  especially  when  the  latter  have  the  Scrip- 
tures printed  under  the  authority  of  the  Holy  See. 

The  Catholic  Bible  contains  in  the  four  Gospels  the  rec- 
ord of  the  very  words  and  deeds  of  our  Lord  and  His  blessed 
Mother  and  foster  father.  It  contains  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
and  in  them  is  to  be  found  what  our  Holy  Church  was  and 
did  during  her  earliest  years.  Few  Catholics  can  afford  to 
buy  the  historical  works  of  Dr.  Pastor  and  Dr.  Alzog,  but 
they  can  all  afford  to  buy  a  Catholic  Bible,  and  thus  have  the 
Church  history  which  it  contains. 

It  is  highly  instructive  to  compare  the  Church  in  that 
far  away  period  with  the  Church  of  to-day.  Such  a  com- 
parison leads  the  devout  reader  to  a  profound  appreciation 
of  the  pure,  unselfish  and  heroic  lives  of  the  members  of  the 
first  Hierarchy.  Those  holy  men  passed  their  days  in  arduous 
service.  They  endured  cheerfully  the  most  cruel  persecutions. 
They  did  not  live  in  palaces,  they  did  not  wear  purple  and 
jewels,  and  they  did  not  fare  royally  every  day.  They  were 
poor,  they  were  chaste,  and  they  were  obedient  to  every  duty. 
I  often  wonder  what  the  sensations  of  those  holy  men  would 
be  if  they  could  see  the  Church  and  its  priesthood  to-day! 

Catholics  who  habitually  neglect  to  read  the  Catholic 
Bible  show  thereby  a  lack  of  appreciation  of  the  gracious  fore- 
thought of  Holy  Mother  Church  in  having  an  authentic  trans- 
lation printed  for  circulation  among  the  people,  and  they  show 
woeful  ingratitude  to  Almighty  God  for  inspiring  such  a  won- 
derful volume. 

Let  the  Catholic  people  become  thoroughly  familiar  with 
the  Catholic  Bible,  particularly  with  the  four  Gospels  and  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles.  Such  familiarity  will  open  their  eyes 
to  what  God  expects  priests  and  prelates  to  be,  and  it  will  in- 
spire them  to  demand  that  the  shepherds  of  the  flock  shall 


THE   PAROCHIAL    SCHOOL. 

show  in  daily  life  an  honest  effort  to  live  as  becometh  priests 
of  God. 

A  study  of  the  Catholic  Bible  will  keep  the  Catholic  peo- 
ple from  being  deceived  by  shows,  and  ceremonials,  and  street 
parades,  and  gorgeous  vestments,  and  columns  of  ecclesias- 
tical news  in  the  daily  papers.  These  things  may  be  the  froth 
on  very  muddy  water.  Catholic  people,  look  for  Christlike- 
ness  in  your  priests.  Are  they  like  the  Savior  in  their  daily 
conduct?  Did  Christ  ever  get  drunk?  Did  Christ  ever  in- 
dulge in  familiarities  with  women?  Did  Christ  ever  do  any 
grafting?  Read  your  Catholic  Bible  and  you  will  fail  to  find 
a  single  instance  where  Christ  asked  the  people  for  money. 
I  know  it  is  a  fact,  and  it  grieves  me,  that  you  hear  from  your 
altars  far  more  about  money  than  you  do  about  God. 

THE  LAITY  SHOULD  SCRUTINIZE  THE  CONFESSIONAL. 

During  the  Chicago  controversy  it  appeared  by  sworn 
affidavits  that  impure  Chicago  priests  were  making  unholy  ap- 
pointments in  the  confessional  with  female  penitents. 

Catholic  parents,  consider  the  demoralization  which  can 
be,  and  which, I  know  is,  wrought  by  wicked  priests  in  the 
confessional.  Your  children  at  a  tender  age  go  to  Confession 
in  obedience  to  the  commands  of  our  holy  religion.  A  priest 
helps  a  penitent  to  make  a  thorough  confession,  and  this  he 
does  by  asking  questions-,  and  the  questions  may  relate  to 
various  phases  of  sexual  matters.  If  the  priest  is  pure,  he 
will  go  no  farther  than  he-  conscientiously  feels  is  necessary. 
But  an  impure  priest  has  a  peculiarly  agreeable  opportunity 
in  the  confessional  to  satisfy  his  depraved  instincts.  Your 
beautiful  girl,  with  her.  heart  pure  and  her  mind  uncontami- 
nated  by  sexual  thoughts,  dutifully  goes  to  confession,  and  the 
impure  priest  artfully  leads  her  from  one  suggestive?  idea  to 
another,  until  her  modesty  is  shocked  and  her  mind  filled  with 
unholy  ideas.  Catholic  women,  of  deep  faith  and  unimpeach- 
able character,  have  sadly  told  me  that  vicious  confessors  put 


CATHOLIC  EMANCIPATION.  39! 

unholy  ideas  into  their  minds  in  the  confessional  in  their  girl- 
hood, of  which,  they  were  confident,  they  would  otherwise 
have  remained  in  ignorance.  Now,  what  are  the  arts  of  the 
seductionist  according  to  the  common  knowledge  of  mankind? 
Is  it  not  current  that  that  monster  undermines  innocence  by 
delicate  and  carefully  measured  attacks,  so  that  each  successive 
shock  to  virtue  shall  not  be  too  great,  and  that  there  may  be 
a  progressive  familiarity  by  his  victim  with  impurity?  Does 
he  not  act  on  the  philosophy  indicated  in  this  well-known 
stanza  of  Alexander  Pope? 

Vice  is  a  monster  of  so  frightful  mien, 
As  to  be  hated  needs  but  to  be  seen ; 
Yet  seen  too  oft,  familiar  with  her  face, 
We  first  endure,  then  pity,  then  embrace. 

Lecherous  priests  take  delight  in  blunting  the 
modesty  of  innocent  girls  in  the  confessional,  and  in  the  com- 
pany of  their  boon  companions  they  revel  in  recitations  of  their 
salacious  experiences  in  the  Sacred  Tribunal  of  Penance. 

Catholic  parents,  notice  this:  a  wicked  priest  takes  very 
much  more  time  to  hear  the  confession  of  a  female  than  he 
requires  to  hear  that  of  a  male.  Why  is  this  ?  I  say  that  lust 
is  the  sole  explanation. 

What  is  the  personal  appearance  of  many  Catholic  priests 
and  prelates?  I  submit  that  it  is  that  of  a  drunkard  or  a 
glutton  or  a  debauchee.  Catholic  people,  look  at  the  faces 
and  forms  of  the  priests  and  prelates  whom  you  know  and  of 
those  whom  you  meet  on  the  streets,  do  not  the  majority  of 
them  indicate  profligacy?  Many  ecclesiastics  did  not  have 
such  dissipated  faces  and  forms  when  they  were  ordained: 
what  has  made  the  change  for  the  worse,  the  service  of  God 
or  the  service  of  the  Devil?  Catholic  parents  permit  their 
daughters  to  go  to  confession  to  priests  whose  personal  ap- 
pearance of  debauchery  is  so  pronounced  that  if  those  priests 
were  men  of  any  other  calling  or  profession  those  same  par- 
ents would  shudder  with  horror  at  the  mere  suggestion  of 


392  THE    PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

their  daughters  forming  their  acquaintance.  My  dear  Cath- 
olic parents,  a  clerical  debauchee  of  the  confessional  is  in- 
finitely more  dangerous  to  your  daughter  than  a  common 
debauchee  of  the  street. 

Scores  of  Catholic  fathers  have  told  me  within  the  past 
few  years  that  they  were  afraid  to  permit  their  children  (par- 
ticularly their  daughters)  to  go  to  confession  as  they  felt  that 
they  ran  a  great  hazard  of  being  ruined.  The  truth  compels 
me  to  say  that  their  fears  are  well  founded.  To  send  a  pure 
young  girl  to  confession  to  an  impure  priest  is  worse  than 
exposing  her  to  the  smallpox.  She  might  not  catch  the  small- 
pox, and  if  she  did  the  modem  treatment  would  probably 
keep  her  face  from  being  pitted.  But  if  she  goes  to  con- 
fession to  an  impure,  lustful  priest  it  will  take  a  miracle  to 
keep  her  soul  from  being  stained. 

PUNISHMENT  OF  DRUNKEN  AND  IMMORAL  PRIESTS. 

In  view  of  the  scandals  given  the  faithful  by  drunken, 
grafting  and  immoral  priests,  I  urge  the  necessity  of  dealing 
rigorously  with  such  offenders. 

The  time  has  passed  away  in  America  for  looking  upon 
a  priestly  grafter  with  leniency — he  should  be  spurned. 

A  clerical  drunkard  is  a  living  libel  upon  the  honest 
temperance  sentiment  of  the  American  Catholic  Church,  and 
in  justice  to  the  noble  temperance  societies  of  the  Church, 
which  are  striving  to  save  Catholic  youth  from  the  drink 
demon,  drunkenness  in  the  priesthood  should  be  regarded  and 
punished  as  a  grave  offense. 

A  priest,  who  has  been  guilty  of  immorality,  should  be 
visited  with  the  severest  punishment,  a  part  of  which  should 
be  a  life-long  banishment  from  the  schools,  the  confessional 
and  the  public  ministry  of  the  Church. 

In  this  connection  I  quote  the  words  of  the  Angelic  Doc- 
tor, St.  Thomas  Aquinas: 

It  is  better  for  the  body  that  the  cancer  should  be  removed 
by  the  surgeon's  knife.  It  is  better  for  the  wheat  that  it 


CATHOLIC  EMANCIPATION.  393 

should  be  winnowed,  and  so  be  separated  from  the  chaff.  A 
corporate  body — whether  religious,  social,  or  political — gains 
by  the  expulsion,  even  though  forcible,  of  those  of  its  members 
who  are  working  against  its  best  and  highest  interests.  Trea- 
son is  always  a  crime.  Traitors  can  claim  no  quarter.  Men 
who  profess  a  religious  life,  and  wear  the  livery  of  a  religious 
order ;  and  yet,  under  the  cloak  of  religion,  are  living  a  life 
of  scandal,  diametrically  opposed  to  their  calling  and  profes- 
sion, are  traitors.  They  are  siding  actively  and  aggressively 
with  the  enemy.  They  fall  under  the  penalty  due  to  treason. 
(An  Apology  for  the  Religious  Orders  by  St.  Thomas  Aqui- 
nas, pp.  8,  9.) 

The  purging  of  its  priesthood  of  drunken,  grafting  and 
immoral  priests  is  the  greatest  blessing  that  could  come  to  the 
Catholic  Church  in  America.  Such  purification  holds  unlim- 
ited possibilities  for  good. 

The  toleration  of  corrupt  priests  and  prelates  by  the 
Church  breeds  a  generation  which  is  Catholic  in  name  but  athe- 
istic at  heart.  Catholic  young  people  have  imbibed  the  spirit  of 
America,  and  they  observe,  read  and  think.  The  ministrations 
of  wicked  priests  undermine  their  belief  in  the  divinity  of  their 
Church,  and  they  lose  the  faith.  Priestly  rottenness,  unblush- 
ingly  flaunting  itself,  shielded  and  condoned  by  ecclesiastical 
superiors,  turns  religion  into  a  farce.  It  leads  the  young  peo- 
ple to  regard  the  Church  as  a  baptized  paganism.  Clerical 
immorality  destroys  belief  in  sacramental  grace. 

If  our  Holy  Mother  Church  really  hopes  to  bring  all  the 
•people  of  this  earth  into  her  fold,  she  must  pursue  a  course 
which  will  convince  humanity  that  in  her  tiara  sparkle  un- 
tarnished the  jewels  of  purity,  truth  and  justice.  Protestant- 
ism will  never  be  converted  to  Catholicism  by  a  course  of  ec- 
clesiastical conduct  which  punishes  virtue  and  rewards  vice. 
It  will  never  knowingly  receive  the  Holy  Sacraments  from 
the  hands  of  drunken,  grafting  or  lecherous  priests. 

The  Protestant  sects  in  America  enforce  a  higher  stand- 
ard of  ministerial  daily  life  than  the  Roman  Catholic  officials. 


394  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

It  is  a  hopeless  task  to  attempt  to  convert  Protestants  while 
such  a  deplorable  disciplinary  contrast  exists.  Catholic  priests 
should  be  the  purest  body  of  ministers  on  earth,  in  thought, 
word  and  deed. 

The  canons  of  the  Catholic  Church  provide  for  the  rig- 
orous punishment  of  sinning  priests  and  prelates. 

The  Council  of  Trent,  (Session  25,  Chapter  XIV.,  de 
Reformaiione),  prescribed  "The  method  of  procedure  in  cases 
of  priests  and  prelates  who  keep  concubines;"  and  also  de- 
creed, (Session  25,  Chapter  XV.,  de  Reformatione),  that  "  The 
illegitmate  children  of  clerics  (priests  and  prelates)  are  to 
be  shut  out  from  certain  benefices." 

Catholic  Canons  prescribe  that  it  is  the  bounden  duty  of 
a  Bishop  to  degrade  any  priest  of  his  diocese,  and  to  forbid 
any  exercise  by  him  of  his  clerical  faculties,  who  is  guilty 
of  solicitation,  with  either  a  male  or  female,  directly  or  in- 
directly, in  connection  with  the  Sacrament  of  Penance — Con- 
fession ;  and,  in  addition,  in  countries  which  are  strictly  Catho- 
lic, to  have  the  offender  thrown  into  prison  for  the  remainder 
of  his  life. 

Bishops  are  bound  in  conscience  to  protect,  by  every  means 
in  their  power,  the  faithful,  and  to  safeguard  the  Sacraments 
from  profanation  by  clerics  who  have  been  guilty  of  solici- 
tation, directly  or  indirectly,  in  connection  with  Confession. 

If  a  priest  is  guilty  of  the  sin  of  unchastity  with  a  male  or 
female,  either  by  word  or  act,  and  afterwards  absolves,  or  pre- 
tends to  absolve,  his  accomplice,  he  is  ipso  facto  excommuni- 
cated, and  such  excommunication  can  only  be  removed  by  the 
Pope  or  by  some  ecclesiastic  who  is  specially  empowered  by 
Him. 

Why  should  it  be  thought  a  thing  incredible  that  priests 
and  prelates  in  this  day  prove  faithless  to  their  vows?  The 
human  heart  is  the  same  now  as  it  was  when  Judas  betrayed 
our  Lord,  and  Catholic  people  should  not  ignore  this  fact. 
Human  passions  are  not  reformed  by  the  mere  flight  of  time. 


CATHOLIC  EMANCIPATION.  395 

If  it  were  possible  for  priests,  prelates  and  cardinals  to  be  guilty 
of  grafting  and  lewdness  in  the  fifteenth  century,  it  is  possible 
for  them  to  be  similarly  at  fault  in  the  twentieth  century.  By 
obstinately  refusing  to  believe  that  priests,  prelates  and  cardi- 
nals commit  sin  the  Catholic  people  of  to-day  are  making  it  easy 
for  clerical  wolves  in  sheep's  clothing  to  give  free  rein  to  their 
base  passions.  If  the  Catholic  people  will  discard  their  un- 
founded belief  in  the  impeccability  of  ecclesiastics  and  judge 
them  as  they  judge  other  members  of  the  commonwealth, 
clerical  grafting  and  immorality  will  be  speedily  unmasked  and 
wiped  out. 

Publicity  and  not  secrecy  in  dealing  with  clerical  iniquity 
is  the  true  policy  for  the  Catholic  Church  in  America.  To  hide 
known  priestly  sin  instead  of  publicly  rebuking  it,  puts  the 
Church  under  the  ban  of  Catholic  and  non-Catholic  scorn. 
The  non-Catholics  claim  thereby  that  the  Catholic  boast  of 
ecclesiastical  progress  is  an  empty  one,  and  that  in  reality  the 
Church  is  the  same  as  She  was  in  the  dark  ages.  The  Catho- 
lics see  thereby  that  their  ecclesiastical  leaders  do  not  regard 
the  breaking  of  God's  commandments  by  priests  as  being  sin- 
ful. One  of  the  prominent  American  Archbishops  told  me: 
"  The  crimes  of  the  clergy  must  be  cloaked."  Jesus  Christ 
drove  the  sinners  out  of  the  Temple  in  the  light  of  day ;  He  fol- 
lowed the  course  of  publicity  and  not  of  secrecy.  The  Church 
must  follow  the  example  of  its  Lord  or  it  will  bury  itself  under 
the  opprobrium  of  friend  and  foe  alike. 

It  will  destroy  the  Catholic  Church  in  America  if  this 
course  is  any  longer  pursued :  "  Get  the  money !  Have  a 
good  time!  Don't  get  caught!  If  found  out  hush  it  up!" 

Clerical  Excuses  for  Priestly  Misconduct. 

Laymen,  I  beg  you  to  analyze  the  clerical  excuses  made  for 
priestly  misconduct.  Catholic  priests  seek  to  find  in  the 
Scriptures  and  in  the  lives  of  the  Fathers  incidents  to  palliate 
or  to  excuse  the  conduct  of  sinning  priests.  Therefore,  when- 


THE   PAROCHIAL    SCHOOL. 

ever  some  priest  brings  scandal  to  Ihe  Church  by  flagrant  mis- 
conduct the  faithful  are  reminded  of  the  fact  that  Peter  denied 
his  Lord,  that  Judas  sold  Jesus  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver,  and 
that  St.  Augustine  was  once  a  profligate.  The  Catholic  people 
are  expected  to  make  allowances  for  their  sinning  priests  be- 
cause Peter,  Judas  and  St.  Augustine  sinned.  Let  us  examine 
closely  this  familiar  argument! 

What  about  Judas?  He  was  the  clerical  grafter  of  the 
twelve  Apostles.  He  sold  his  Lord  for  thirty  pieces  of  silver, 
or  about  fifteen  dollars  in  American  money ;  this  amount  is 
but  an  infinitesimal  part  of  the  receipts  from  the  fairs  or  bazaars 
which  are  run  by  the  priests  whom  I  arraign.  Judas  repented 
of  his  horrid  crime  and  returned  the  money.  Whoever  heard 
of  any  modern  clerical  grafter  returning  illgotten  wealth? 
Then,  unable  to  endure  his  remorse,  Judas  hanged  himself. 
It  is  needless  to  add  that  the  vital  statistics  of  America  are  in 
no  danger  of  a  surfeit  of  imitative  records  by  Catholic  clerical 
grafters.  Neither  is  there  any  likelihood  of  Bishops  being 
embarrassed  by  an  excessive  number  of  applications  for  mo- 
nastic entertainment  by  remorse-stricken  priestly  sinners  who 
do  not  want  to  add  suicide  to  their  other  crimes. 

What  are  the  facts  of  Peter's  denial  of  Jesus  ?  The  Lord 
had  been  arrested ;  He  was  in  the  hands  of  His  enemies ;  they 
were  about  to  take  His  life.  Peter,  braver  than  the  rest  of 
Christ's  disciples,  had  followed  to  the  place  where  Jesus  was 
held  as  a  captive.  It  was  a  dangerous  place  for  any  follower 
of  the  Lord.  His  own  life  might  be  at  stake.  At  that  criti- 
cal moment  Peter  was  accused  by  a  maid  of  being  of  the  com- 
pany of  Jesus.  Yielding  to  his  fear,  Peter  denied.  Now,  what 
is  there  in  this  incident  to  excuse  priests  in  our  day  for  com- 
mitting rape,  or  seduction,  or  sodomy  ?  Peter  was  following 
Jesus  when  he  sinned — are  priestly  grafters,  rapists,  seduction- 
ists  and  sodomists  following  Jesus  when  they  sin?  Peter  de- 
nied through  fear ;  sinning  priests  deny  through  lust — is  there 
no  difference  between  fear  and  lust?  Peter,  reminded  of  his 


CATHOLIC  EMANCIPATION.  397 

sin  by  the  crowing  of  a  rooster,  >vent  out  and  wept  bitterly, 
and  never  denied  his  Lord  again :  immoral  priests,  daily  re- 
minded of  their  sins  by  the  Holy  Mass,  (the  unbloody  sacri- 
fice of  the  body  and  blood  of -Jesus  Christ),  eat,  drink,  are 
merry,  and  sin  again.  Peter  denied  his  Lord  before  the  Day 
of  Pentecost,  on  which  he  and  his  fellow  Apostles  were 
filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost;  immoral  priests  deny  their  Lord 
after  they  have  received  the  Holy  Ghost.  Peter  was  finally 
crucified,  with  his  head  down,  for  his  faithfulness  to  Christ: 
what  sort  of  holy  martydom  for  Jesus  do  clerical  grafters  under- 
go in  our  day?  Bacchus  and  Venus  can  answer. 

St.  Augustine  was  an  unrighteous  man  before  his  con- 
version; but  after  that  happy  event  his  life  was  pure.  He 
sinned  when  he  was  without  the  Sacraments;  but  wicked 
priests  sin  in  spite  of  the  grace  of  the  Sacraments,  and  in  the 
full  light  of  Christianity. 

I  submit,  in  conclusion,  these  words  of  an  octogenarian 
Catholic  gentleman :  "  For  the  honor  of  God,  don't  compare  a 
bad  priest  with  Judas,  Peter  or  St.  Augustine:  it  is  not  just 
to  those  gentlemen." 

Sinning  priests  and  prelates  of  our  times  sometimes  at- 
tempt to  justify  their  rascalities  by  pointing  to  the  greater  ex- 
cesses of  the  Popes  and  Cardinals  to  whom  I  have  and  have 
not  referred  in  the  history  of  the  Vatican.  I  am  sure  that  the 
humblest  Catholic  will  say,  "  Two  wrongs  never  make  a 
right." 

The  Catholic  People  Should  Forsake  Drunken,  Grafting  and 
:  Immoral  Priests. 

I  now  implore  Catholic  parents  to  refuse  to  send  their 
children  to  parochial  schools  which  have  drunken  or  immoral 
or  grafting  principals. 

I  also  beseech  the  Catholic  people  to  refuse  to  receive  the 
Sacraments  from  the  hands  of  drunken,  grafting  or  immoral 
priests  or  prelates. 


THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

My  requests  are  not  un-Catholic  as  will  be  seen  by  the  fol- 
lowing which  I  have  taken  from  Catholic  history: 

A  synod  held  at  Rome,  in  the  Lateran  Palace  (A.  D. 
1059),  at  which  one  hundred  and  thirteen  bishops  assisted,  .  . 
renewed  all  the  decrees  passed  against  simony  and  the  concu- 
binage of  ecclesiastics  since  the  pontificate  of  Leo  IX.  A 
decree  was  even  passed  forbidding  any  one  to  assist  at  the  Mass 
of  a  priest  known-  to  keep  a  concubine  or  hold  criminal  inter- 
course with  a  woman;  (and  in  the  city  of  Milan  in  the  eleventh 
century,  two  zealous  priests,  Ariald  and  Landulf)  prevailed 
upon  the  people  not  to  receive  the  Sacraments  at  the  hands  of 
the  married  clergy.  (Dr.  Alzog's  Manual  of  Universal 
Church  History,  Vol.  II,  pp.  326-327,  375-376). 

The  above  decree  has  never  been  repealed.  The  action  of 
Ariald  and  Landulf  received,  ultimately,  general  approbation. 
Ariald  was  canonized  by  Pope  Alexander  II. 

Catholic  reader,  if  you  have  an  evil  pastor,  I  beg  you,  for 
the  greater  honor  and  glory  of  God  and  for  the  salvation  of 
your  soul,  to  cease  contributing  in  any  way  to  his  support,  and 
I  implore'  you  to  seek  some  worthy  priest  who  can  'holily  give 
you  the  sacraments.  Under  no  consideration  permit  him  to 
hear  the  confession  of  your  child. 

I  also  caution  Catholic  parentsxto  be  watchful  of  theij  boys 
who  serve  on  the  altar.  Many  altar  boys  fall  away  from 
the  faith  because  of  the  unpriestly  conduct  in  the  House  of  God 
of  pastors  and  assistant  pastors.  "  Familiarity  breeds  con- 
tempt." Many  who  were  once  altar  boys  are  now  in  American 
penitentiaries.  I  know  Catholics  who  will  not  permit  their  boys 
to  serve  on  the  altar. 

Husbands  should  not  permit  immoral  priests  or  prelates 
to  visit  their  homes  at  any  time. 

In  this  connection  I  quote  these  words  of  the  Angelic 
Doctor,  St.  Thomas  Aquinas: 

They,  who,  in  their  lives  contradict  their  profession,  have 
no  cause  to  complain,  either  of  the  violence  of  the  purification, 


CATHOLIC  EMANCIPATION.  399 

or  of  the  salutary  result  of  the  process  of  expiation.  Diony- 
sius  puts  it  pithily :  "  It  is  not  an  evil  thing  to  be  punished : 
the  evil  is  to  deserve  punishment."  They  merit  divine  judg- 
ments, even  though  an  Attila  be  chosen  "  Scourge  of  God." 
(An  Apology  for  the  Religious  Orders,  by  St.  Thomas  Aqui- 
nas, p.  9.) 

I  commend  to  the  Catholic  people  the  forceful  words  of  the 
celebrated  Florentine  friar  and  martyr,  Father  Jerome  Sa- 
vonarola, of  glorious  memory : 

Ecclesiastical  power  when  it  destroys  the  Church,  is  not 
ecclesiastical  power,  but  it  is  an  infernal  power,  and  is  given 
by  Satan.  I  say  to  you  that  when  it  fosters  harlots,  profli- 
gates, and  robbers,  and  persecutes  the  good  and  destroys  good- 
living  Christians,  then  it  is  an  infernal  and  diabolical  power, 
and  must  be  firmly  resisted  and  -corrected.  (Was  Savona- 
rola Really  Excommunicated?  by  Father  J.  L.  O'Neil,  O.  P., 
p.  164.). 


CHAPTER   XII. 


THE   PUBLIC   SCHOOL. 

HISTORICAL. 

The  American  public  school  has  grown  up  with  the  Nation. 
The  colonial  settlers  were  not  heedless  of  the  blessings  of 
a  common  school  education,  and  they  took  steps  to  secure 
them  for  their  children.  When  the  Republic  came  into  being 
it  was  immediately  recognized  that  its  perpetuity  depended 
largely  upon  the  general  diffusion  of  knowledge.  To  encour- 
age education  the  Government  made  grants  of  public  lands 
/to  the  new-born  States.  Within  thirty  years  after  the  adoption 
of  the  Constitution  the  public  schools  were  firmly  intrenched 
in  the  very  structure  of  all  the  States  of  the  Union,  and  were 
regarded  as  among  the  strongest  bulwarks  of  morality  and 
good  government. 

The  public  schools  of  to-day  represent  an  investment  of 
hundreds  of  millions  of  dollars ;  they  give  employment  to  tens 
of  thousands  of  noble  men  and  women ;  they  educate  millions 
upon  millions  of  the  Nation's  youth ;  and  they  are  regarded  by 
the  great  body  of  American  citizenship  as  the  chief  bulwark 
of  the  Republic. 

AN  ABSOLUTELY  NECESSARY  INSTITUTION. 
As  an  American  citizen  I  appreciate  the  public  school. 
In  this  country  (exclusive  of  foreign  possessions)  there  are 
over  eighty  millions  of  people.  The  Catholic  population  is 
under  twelve  millions,  and  many  of  these  are  very  indifferent 
Catholics.  The  public  school  is  a  necessity  to  the  seventy 
millions  of  the  non-Catholic  population.  The  non-Catholics 
.will  never  consent  to  have  their  children  taught  by  Roman 


THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOL.  4OI 

Catholic  monks  or  nuns,  and  the  multitude  of  faiths  makes  it 
impossible  for  each  denomination  to  have  its  own  schools. 

What  sort  of  a  nation  would  we  have  if  each  sect  educated 
its  own  children  ?     Statistics  show  about  750  different  denomi- 
nations in  the  United  States.     Imagine  the  American  public 
school  abolished  and  each  sect  educating  its  own  youth!     Re- 
member, too,  the  many  nationalities  represented  in  our  citizen- 
ship!    What  kind  of  American  citizens  would  be  produced  ?\ 
Two  generations  wholly  educated  in  sectarian  schools  would  1 
mean  the  disruption  of  the  United  States.     The  youth  would/ 
enter  the  arena  of  citizenship  rilled  with  bigotry.     The  foreigtv 
born  citizens  would  seek  to  make  their  native  language  para-\ 
mount.     The  English  language  would  cease  to  be   regnant.  1 
Each  sect  and  non-religious  body  would  become  a  caste.    There 
would  be  falsehood  in  instruction  originatng  in  ambitions  for 
advantage  over  other  bodies  or  for  greater  control  of  individual 
adherents.     There  would  be  an  utter  lack  of  national  ideals. 
But,  more  regrettable  than  any  of  these  things,  there  would    / 
develop  a  spirit  of  indifference  to  the  cause  of  general  educa-   / 
tion  which  would  finally  culminate  in  a  small  literate  minority  / 
and  a  vast   illiterate   majority   in   the   Commonwealth.     The/ 
public  school  prevents  these  deplorable  conditions,  and  by  this 
prevention  the  Nation  is  kept  from  spiritual,  intellectual,  moral 
and  material  depreciation  and  ruin.     Each  religious  and  non- 
religious  body  is  a  shareholder  in  the  Nation.     Hence  the  pub- 
lic school  safeguards  the  best  interests  of  the  Catholic  Church 
in  America,  as,  indeed,  it  safeguards  the  best  interests  of  all  the 
other  sectarian  and  non-sectarian  bodies. 

The  American  public  school  has  been  the  potent  means 
of  putting  America  in  the  forefront  of  the  nations.  Its  grad-  • 
nates  have  gone  into  the  world,  it  is  true,  without  catechetical 
training,  but  not  without  moral  discipline ;  the  mass  of  its 
principals  and  teachers  are  Christians,  and  consequently  the 
pupils  have  had  the  molding  influence  of  Christian  personali- 
ties. 


402  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

To  bring  all  of  the  American  children  under  the  domina- 
tion of  sectarian  schools  would  turn  the  United  States  towards 
the  dark  ages.  It  would  be  a  calamity  to  the  Nation,  and  a 
calamity  to  the  sects. 

The  public  school  means  unity  in  language,  knowledge, 
patriotism  and  achievement. 

THE  SAFEGUARD  OF  FREEDOM  OF  CONSCIENCE,  FREE  SPEECH 
AND  A  FREE  PRESS. 

Freedom  of  conscience,  speech  and  press  are  inseparably 
bound  up  with  a  free  school. 

The  liberty  to  think,  speak  and  print  whatever  one  wishes 
makes  possible  a  conflict  of  opinions,  and  such  a  contest  is  es- 
sential in  the  realm  of  ideas  if  progress  is  to  be  made.  It  in- 
sures "  the  survival  of  the  fittest "  in  the  domain  of  human 
thought.  The  weak  idea  goes  down  before  the  strong — the 
untruthful  is  destroyed  by  the  truthful.  If  all  thinking  and 
printing  had  to  conform  to  the  unchanging  requirements  of 
some  human  standards  what  room  would  there  be  for  that 
attrition  of  ideas  which  is  the  parent  of  every  advance  in  civili- 
zation? In  the  domain  of  religion  Catholics  believe  they  have 
an  infallible  guide,  and  with  that  belief  I  am  seeking  no  quar- 
rel. But  even  in  that  domain  the  world  is  not  stationary,  and 
if  freedom  to  think  and  print  is  unduly  curbed  there  is  likeli- 
hood of  a  failure  to  keep  abreast  of  an  advancing  world. 
While  fundamental  truths  abide,  still  it  is  not  impossible  to  con- 
ceive of  the  method  of  their  presentation  or  statement  chang- 
ing, and  changing  for  the  better. 

If  this  were  a  Catholic  country  Mr.  Finerty  would  not 
dare  to  publish  in  his  paper  such  an  article  upon  the  school 
question  as  the  one  I  shall  quote  in  this  chapter  from  its  col- 
umns. All  productions  would  have  to  have  ecclesiastical 
permission  to  be  published.  What  would  be  the  result,  es- 
pecially if  bigoted  or  immoral  ecclesiastics  were  the  censors? 


THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOL.  403 

Freedom  of  the  press  will  never  be  abolished  in  America 
while  the  people  understand  the  difference  between  despotism 
and  freedom,  stagnation  and  progression,  death  and  life.  It 
will  last,  in  other  words,  as  long  as  the  public  school. 

The  press  has  been  a  subject  of  much  concern  to  evil 
Catholic  ecclesiastics.  They  early  recognized  the  danger  to 
their  cause  which  lurked  in  it  when  untrammeled.  This  rec- 
ognition was  first  paid  by  one  of  the  most  awful  monsters 
who  ever  desecrated  the  name  of  man,  and  he  was  none  other 
than  Pope  Alexander  the  Sixth.  His  own  crimes,  no  doubt, 
prompted  him  to  see  the  hazard  of  exposure  which  wicked 
Church  officials  run  from  an  unmuzzled  press.  Commencing 
with  him  stringent  measures  have  been  enforced  in  relation 
to  printing.  In  addition,  the  faithful  among  newspaper  re- 
porters, editors  and  proprietors  have  been  carefully  taught 
what  their  duties  are  towards  the  Church  in  connection  with 
their  daily  employment.  The  result  is  seen  in  the  vast  amount 
of  favorable  news  to  the  Catholic  Church  which  finds  its  way 
into  the  public  press,  and  the  vast  amount  of  unfavorable  news 
to  Her  that  finds  its  way  into  wastebaskets.  The  American 
hierarchy  has  left  no  stone  unturned  in  its  persistent  efforts 
to  control  the  utterances  of  the  newspapers  of  the  land  about 
the  Catholic  Church,  Her  aims,  Her  work,  and  Her  priests. 

I  do  not  impugn  the  motives  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  press. 
The  Catholic  newspaper  men  act  in  the  way  prescribed  by  their 
priests  and  prelates,  and  they  do  so  because  they  are  led  to  be- 
lieve by  them  that  such  a  course  is  for  the  greater  honor  and 
glory  of  God.  Gentlemen,  I  earnestly  ask  you  to  reflect.  Why 
should  not  Catholic  ecclesiastics  receive  as  severe  chastisement 
at  your  hands  when  they  break  the  laws  of  God  as  the  clergy- 
men of  Protestant  sects  have  meted  out  to  them  by  you  when 
they  do  wrong?  Let  me  ask  you  if  one  explanation  of  the 
superior  standard  of  ministerial  life  demanded  by  Protestant 
sects  and  given  by  their  clergymen,  which  is  far  higher  than 
the  Catholic,  may  not  be  due  to  the  fact  that  the  sinning  Cath- 


404  THE  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL. 

olic  priest  receives  a  weak,  if  any,  castigation  at  your  hands, 
while  the  sinning  Protestant  pastor  is  excoriated?  May  it 
not  be  true  that  many  of  the  Catholic  reading  public,  who 
know  of  the  unpriestliness  of  certain  clerics  who  frequently 
receive  laudatory  notices  from  your  pens,  experience  a  feeling 
of  disgust  which  begets  a  leaning  towards  atheism? 

It  will  be  a  happy  day  for  the  Catholic  Church  in  America 
when  her  sons  who  are  newspaper  reporters,  editors  and  pro- 
prietors pursue  the  course  of  fearlessly  and  unflinchingly  pub- 
lishing to  the  world  the  unvarnished  Catholic  news. 

Catholic  newspaper  reporters,  editors  and  proprietors  will 
be  condemned  undoubtedly  by  pious  ninnies  and  by  clerical 
hypocrites  if  they  expose  falsehood  and  rascality  in  holy  places, 
but  I  submit  to  them  the  very  highest  authority  in  favor  of 
such  a  course: 

"  When  investigating  the  Vatican  records  Leo  XII I.  said 
to  Dom.  Gasquet,  the  historian,  '  Publish  everything  of  inter- 
est— everything,  whether  it  tends  to  the  discredit  or  credit  of 
the  ecclesiastical  authorities;  for  you  may  be  sure  that  if  the 
Gospel  had  been  written  in  our  day  the  treachery  of  Judas 
and  the  denial  of  St.  Peter  would  have  been  suppressed  for 
fear  of  scandalizing  weak  consciences.' ' 

Protestant  newspaper  reporters,  editors  and  proprietors 
are  also  brought  under  the  power  of  Catholic  ecclesiastics. 
Various  influences  are  brought  to  bear  upon  them.  Threats 
and  cajolery  are  used  to  control  their  columns.  I  know  that 
non-Catholic  newspaper  men  have  been  visited  by  committees 
of  Catholic  priests  and  laymen  and  threatened  with  boycotts 
if  certain  items  of  news  appeared  in  their  papers  again. 

PREVENTS  NATIONAL  STAGNATION. 
We  are  told  that : 

Wherever  the  Church  has  set  her  foot,  she  has  straight- 
way changed  the  face  of  things,  and  has  attempered  the  moral 
tone  of  the  people  with  a  new  civilization,  and  with  virtues  be- 
fore unknown.  All  nations  which  have  yielded  to  her  sway 


THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOL.  40$ 

have  become  eminent  for  their  culture,  their  sense  of  justjce, 
and  the  glory  of  their  high  deeds.  (The  Great  Encyclical 
Letters  of  Leo  XIIL,  p.  107.) 

But  how  can  these  emphatic  words  be  reconciled  with 
well-known  contemporaneous  history?  What  about  the  va- 
rious Catholic  countries  of  South  America?  What  about 
Italy,  Spain,  Portugal  ?  Cardinal  Manning  once  wrote : 

But  what  is  the  state  of  France,  Italy,  Spain,  South  Amer- 
ica ?  All  the  light  and  grace  of  the  Catholic  Church  is  in  vain 
for  multitudes  in  those  Catholic  nations.  (Purcell's  Life  of 
Cardinal  Manning,  Vol.  II.,  p.  781.) 

If  Italy,  Spain,  Portugal  and  the  Catholic  nations  of  South 
America  had  the  American  public  schools,  what  would  be  the 
inevitable  result?  Stagnation  would  make  way  for  progres- 
sion. In  the  thought  of  Mr.  Bancroft : 

In  a  country  which  enjoys  freedom  of  conscience,  of  in- 
quiry, of  speech,  of  the  press,  and  of  government,  the  uni- 
versal intuition  of  truth  promises  the  never-ending  progress  of 
reform.  (Bancroft's  History  U.  S.,  Vol.  V.,  p.  125.) 

APPRECIATION  OF  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  BY  DISTINGUISHED 
CATHOLICS. 

Bishop  John  Lancaster  Spalding. 

Bishop  Spalding  lectured  in  the  Notre  Dame  Church,  Chi- 
cago, Sunday  evening,  January  24,  1904,  on  the  subject,  "  The 
Catholic  Church  in  the  United  States."  He  said  in  part: 

The  American  people,  from  many  causes,  in  creating  their 
free  schools,  eliminated  religion.  They  certainly  did  not  elim- 
inate the  teaching  of  religion  because  they  were  irreligious 
or  because  they  were  indifferent  or  because  they  felt  that  re- 
ligion is  not  vitally  associated  with  morality.  They  eliminated 
religious  teaching  because  they  were  forced  to  do  so.  There 
were  so  many  conflicting  religious  creeds,  so  many  denomina- 
tions, differing  from  one  another,  that  it  would  have  been  im- 
possible to  establish  a  system  which  would  have  taught  re- 


406  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

ligious  dogmas.  I  think  the  difficulty  was  practically  insu- 
perable; and  I  am  convinced  that  the  school  system,  which 
is  not  irreligious,  not  anti-religious,  not  godless,  is  the  result 
of  a  condition  of  things,  the  outcome  of  the  circumstances  in 
which  the  American  people  were  placed. 

I  have  the  profoundest  respect  for  the  teachers  of  our 
state  schools.  I  know  them,  pretty  largely.  They  are  noble 
women — nine-tenths  of  them  women,  I  suppose.  They  are 
noble  women,  and  mostly  religious  women.  Large  numbers 
of  them  are  Catholic  women. 

Hon.  John  F.  Finerty. 

The  Hon.  John  F.  Finerty,  a  prominent  Catholic  layman, 
historian,  and  chief  editor  of  The  Chicago  Citizen,  (the  of- 
ficial newspaper  of  the  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians  of  Illi- 
nois, and  the  United  Irish  societies  of  Chicago  and  Cook  coun- 
ty, Illinois),. in  an  editorial  entitled,  "  We  Must  Respect  Amer- 
ican Institutions,"  under  date  of  December  26,  1903,  said: 

We  believe  in  the  American  non-sectarian  public  school, 
and  we  believe  in  educating  the  youth  of  all  races  side  by  side, 
so  that  they  may  grow  up  as  friends,  trusting  each  other,  not 
as  enemies  suspicious  of  one  another.  We  believe  it  would 
be  a  fatal  mistake  to  have  the  American  public  schools  run, 
or  controlled,  by  ecclesiastics  of  any  creed.  As  it  stands,  the 
Catholic,  the  Protestant,  the  Dissenter,  the  Jew  and  the  Con- 
fucian drink  at  the  same  deep  fountain  of  knowledge.  All 
have  their  separate  religious  instruction  where  it  properly  be- 
longs— in  the  church,  the  Temple  and  the  Sunday  school.  If 
the  latter  is  not  provided  by  any  particular  church,  the  fault 
lies  with  the  church,  not  with  the  State,  the  parents  or  the 
children. 

Other  prominent  Catholics,  clerical  and  lay,  entertain  like 
sentiments. 

RELIGIOUS  TEACHING  IN  THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

America  has  citizens  who  believe  that  there  should  be 
definite  religious  teaching  in  its  generic  and  not  sectarian 
sense  in  the  public  schools,  and  the  Republic  has  other  citizens 


THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOL.  407 

\vho  believe  that  the  religious  element  has  no  place  in  the  cur- 
riculum of  the  public  schools.  The  former  class  say  that  it 
is  essential  to  the  proper  development  of  American  youth  that 
certain  fundamental  religious  principles,  upon  which  American 
laws  and  institutions  are  founded,  should  receive  positive  rec- 
ognition in  the  public  schools,  and  that  they  should  be  directly 
taught  to  the  pupils.  The  latter  class  say  that  positive  re- 
ligious teaching  is  not  necessary,  that  the  public  schools  are 
accomplishing  all  that  can  be  reasonably  expected,  and  to  have 
the  religious  element  in  their  curriculum  would  be  to  induce 
contention  and  lead  to  unsatisfactory  results. 

A  Suggested  Religious  and  Ethical  Parliament. 

In  1893  there  was  held  at  Chicago,  Illinois,  a  World's  Par- 
liament of  Religions.  The  religions  of  the  world  sent  rep- 
resentatives to  it.  Distinguished  Catholic  prelates  attended 
and  addressed  it.  It  was  held  in  a  spirit  of  brotherliness.  Its 
members  "  conferred  together  on  the  vital  questions  of  life 
and  immortality  in  a  frank  and  friendly  spirit."  What  is 
needed,  perhaps,  in  this  day  is  an  American  Parliament  of 
Religions,  to  which  delegates  shall  be  sent  from  all  of  the  re- 
ligious sects  and  ethical  organizations  in  the  Republic,  to  con- 
fer together  in  a  frank  and  friendly  spirit  on  the  important 
subject  of  religious  teaching  in  the  American  public  schools. 
Such  a  gathering,  if  conducted  in  a  spirit  of  toleration  and 
patriotism,  might  bring  forth  something  which  would. appeal 
to  the  American  people  as  being  sane  and  essential,  and  it 
might  be  adopted  by  them. 

A  Sectarian  Dog-in-the-M anger  Minority. 

Certain  it  is  that  no  sectarian  minority  in  America  should 
be  permitted  to  play  dog-in-the-manger  on  the  subject  of  ge- 
neric religious  or  ethical  teaching  in  the  public  schools,  if  such 
instruction  is  necessary.  It  is  the  height  of  sectarian  arro- 
gance and  impudence  for  any  sect  in  America  to  say,  in  effect, 


40B  THE  PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

to  the  vast  majority  of  the  American  people,  "Your  public 
schools  are  sinks  of  iniquity  because  they  are  godless ;  we  shall 
take  our  children  out  of  them,  and  we  shall  not  permit  you 
to  purify  them  by  putting  ethical  or  generic  religious  instruc- 
tion into  them."  The  sect  in  America  which  adopts  this  bigot- 
ed and  bulldozing  attitude  should  receive  no  consideration  at 
the  hands  of  the  American  people. 

A  WARNING  TO  THE  CRITICAL  FRIENDS  OF  THE  PUBLIC 

SCHOOL. 

Whenever  a  Protestant  deplores  the  absence  of  religious 
instruction  from  the  public  school,  his  words  are  sent  broad- 
cast by  the  Catholic  clergy  and  press.  Non-Catholic  speakers 
and  writers,  when  criticising  the  public  school,  should  most 
carefully  weigh  their  words,  not  only  with  reference  to  their 
use  by  the  friends  but  by  the  foes  of  the  public  school 
,  .  In  the  Catholic  Church  there  are  bodies  of  individuals 
whose  mission  it  is  to  disseminate  such  information  as  will  be 
likely  to  conduce  to  the  aggrandizement  of  the  Catholic 
Church.  I  am  constrained  to  believe  that  in  their  policy  they 
are  guided  by  the  maxim,  "  The  end  justifies  the  means." 
They  are  always  on  the  alert  to  find  something  detrimental  to 
the  public  school,  and  to  circulate  it. 

THE    NON-CATHOLIC    FRIENDS    OF    THE     PUBLIC   SCHOOLS 

SHOULD  WITHDRAW  ALL  SUPPORT  FROM  CATHOLIC 

INSTITUTIONS. 

Non-Catholics  contribute  directly  and  indirectly  a  large 
amount  of  money  in  the  aggregate  towards  the  support  of 
various  Catholic  institutions.  I  submit  that  it  is  the  duty  of 
patriotic  non-Catholics  to  withdraw  all  support  of  any  nature 
whatsoever  from  Catholic  institutions  until  the  unholy  attack 
of  Catholic  priests  and  prelates  upon  the  American  public 
school  is  completely  abandoned.  Do  not  give  your  money  to 
them,  and  do  not  patronize  them. 


THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOL.  409 

In  the  present  reign  of  clerical  graft  you  are  exceedingly 
foolish  to  contribute  in  any  way  to  the  support  of  Catholic 
institutions.  I  earnestly  plead  with"  you  to  shut  your  purses 
tight  to  all  Catholic  appeals.  Your  money  simply  swells  the 
wealth  and  increases  the  power  of  men  who  are  using  the  garb 
of  religion  to  further  their  un-American  and  unchristian 
schemes.  Every  dollar  you  contribute  to  Catholic  education 
is  but  the  enriching  or  the  empowering  of  ecclesiastics  who  are 
determined  to  destroy  your  system  of  State  schools,  and  to 
crush  your  liberties.  I  have  observed  your  munificence.  I 
know  that  you  contribute  annually  thousands  of  dollars  out  of 
pure  liberality  to  the  Catholic  hierarchy.  You  fondly  imagine 
that  your  gifts  will  redound  to  the  good  of  your  country  in 
the  upbuilding  and  strengthening  of  Catholic  educational  and 
benevolent  institutions.  You  are  deceived.  You  are  helping 
the  enemies  of  your  country.  You  are  assisting  those  who 
would  abolish  your  schools,  close  your  churches,  annihilate 
your  fraternal  orders,  and  reduce  you  to  mere  vassals  of  their 
kingdom  of  graft.  Some  of  you  have  your  daughters  in  con- 
vent schools,  and  thereby  are  direct  sources  of  income  to 
their  principals  and  teachers;  you  are  not  wise. 

Non-Catholic  people  of  America,  I  beg  you  to  absolutely 
cease  contributing,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  Catholic  cleri- 
cal grafters.  Be  not  deceived  by  clerical  reputation  or  title. 
The  men  whom  I  assail  are  by  no  means  exclusive  of  prelates. 
Resolve  now  that  not  one  cent  of  your  money  shall  go  into 
Catholic  hands  until  the  clerical  war  on  the  public  schools  has 
been  frankly  and  wholly  abandoned,  and  until  drunken,  graft- 
ing, infidel  and  immoral  priests  and  prelates  are  excluded 
from  the  cure  of  souls,  the  supervision  of  academies,  and  the 
training  of  parochial  school  children. 

Bear  in  mind,  fellow-citizens,  that  the  most  serious  charges 
of  over  a  score  of  priests  in  Chicago,  made  in  1901  and  later, 
against  certain  members  of  the  priesthood,  were  communi- 
cated to  the  various  American  prelates,  These  dignitaries  knew 


4IO  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

full  well  the  intolerable  conditions  and  offenses  complained 
of  to  the  Holy  See.  Did  they  do  anything  collectively  to  up- 
hold the  champions  of  purity  ?  Perhaps  I  blame  them  unduly, 
however,  for  I  recall  the  words  of  an  American  prelate  of  in- 
ternational fame,  who  said,  when  asked  why  the  American 
prelates  did  not  interfere  in  the  Chicago  controversy :  "  We 
archbishops  and  bishops  dare  not  interfere  for  we  all  have 
ulcers  in  our  own  dioceses." 

Some  of  these  prelates  are  particularly  interested  in  the 
Catholic  University  at  Washington,  and  are  seeking  money 
for  it,  as  they  allege,  from  Catholics  and  non-Catholics  through- 
out the  country.  I  take  this  occasion  to  suggest  to  all  pro- 
spective donors  to  this  institution  that  they  refrain  from  making 
any  gifts  or  bequests  to  it  unless  they  can  be  first  convinced 
that  their  contributions  will  be  wholly  devoted  to  the  purposes 
specified  and  not  go  to  the  swelling  of  the  graft  funds  of  the 
episcopal  solicitors. 

It  may  interest  non-Catholics  to  learn  that  it  is  ordinarily 
a  sin  for  a  Catholic  to  contribute  money  to  any  non-Catholic 
religious  enterprise,  no  matter  what  its  nature  may  be. 

CATHOLIC    PUBLIC    SCHOOL    TEACHERS   SHOULD  UNITE  IN 
DEFENCE  OF  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS. 

Many  of  the  priests  who  are  attacking  the  public  schools 
have  sisters  or  other  near  relatives  who  are  public  school 
teachers. 

A  school  which  is  godless  for  the  pupil  must  be  godless  for 
the  teacher.  Why,  then,  is  there  not  a  ban  upon  the  Catholics 
who  teach  in  the  public  schools  ?  Why  is  there  not  a  ban  upon 
the  Catholic  parents  who  are  educating  their  children  in  the 
parochial  schools  to  become  teachers  in  the  public  schools? 
The  answer  is  found  in  the  words  graft  and  influence.  There 
is  a  return  in  money  from  the  Catholic  public  school  teachers 
in  the  offerings  which  they  make  in  complying  with  their  re- 
ligious duties,  and  until  the  public  schools  can  be  "  knocked 


THE  PUBLIC   SCHOOL.  411 

out  "  Catholics  will  be  permitted  to  teach  in  them  for  the  sake 
of  the  money  that  comes  back. 

There  is  an  influence,  more  or  less  tangible,  given  to  the 
Catholic  hierarchy  by  the  absence  of  any  ban  upon  Catho- 
lics who  teach  in  the  public  schools.  Under  present  con- 
ditions a  multitude  of  Catholics  are  officers  and  teachers  of  the 
public  school  system ;  and  a  host  of  Catholics  are  employed 
as  engineers,  janitors,  etc.,  etc.,  in  connection  with  it. 

The  teacher -of  a  parochial  school  graduating  class,  in  a 
farewell  address  to  her  pupils  just  before  commencement, 
begged  them  never  to  go  to  a  public  high  school  after  their  grad- 
uation. She  laid  great  stress  on  the  godless  character  of  the 
public  high  schools,  and  finally  said,  "  I  would  rather  see  you 
all  dead  than  to  see  you  go  to  a  public  high  school,  unless  you 
go  there  with  the  intention  of  becoming  public  school  teachers." 

It  is  the  hope  of  the  clerical  enemies  of  the  public  schools 
that  by  having  a  Catholic  majority  of  the  public  school 
teachers,  and  the  consciences  of  that  majority  in  their  keep- 
ing, they  will  thereby  be  able  to  bring  about  a  lowering  of  tone 
in  the  teaching  and  thus  cause  an  injury  to  the  public  schools. 
While  I  believe  this  is  the  motive  of  many  priests,  still  I  am 
glad  to  bear  witness  to  the  conviction  that  it  has  not  availed. 
I  believe  the  Catholic  public  school  teachers  are  true  to  their 
public  trust. 

The  Catholic  public  school  teachers  are  mostly  women. 
They  are  God-fearing,  conscientious  teachers.  They  fitted 
themselves  for  their  profession  by  faithful  endeavor.  They 
are  teachers  by  choice  and  by  education.  They  are  making 
an  honest  and  honorable  living  in  the  public  schools. 

American  moulders  of  thought  are  already  asking  this 
question :  "  If  the  public  schools  are  godless,  why  should  the 
teachers  of  the  sect  that  so  stigmatizes  them  be  on  their  teach- 
ing force?" 

Catholic  public  school  teachers  cannot  expect  to  escape 
harsh  criticism  and  antagonistic  treatment  if  by  silence  they 


412  THE   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

endorse  the  attacks  of  their  priests  and  prelates  upon  the  public 
school.  Their  sense  of  religious  consistency  should  lead  them 
to  positive  action  in  behalf  of  the  good  name  and  the  perpe- 
tuity of  the  public  school.  They  should  let  the  world  see  that 
they  do  not  approve  of  that  clerical  course,  which,  although 
allowing  them  to  teach  in  the  public  school,  condemns  that  very 
school.  Religious  consistency  demands  that  the  Catholic 
public  school  teachers  shall  not  be  approvingly  silent  in  the 
presence  of  the  inconsistent  attitude  of  their  priests  and  prelates. 

A  patriotic  motive  should  also  spur  them  to  action.  By 
virtue  of  their  intelligence,  training,  and  experience  they  must 
see,  as  other  Catholic  women  may  not  or  cannot,  that  the  pub- 
lic school  is  the  bulwark  of  the  Nation.  Patriotism  should  im- 
pel them  to  do  their  utmost  to  defend  the  public  school. 

Catholic  fathers  and  mothers  have  interests  which  are 
deeply  related  to  the  public  school.  If  it  should  be  closed  to 
Catholic  teachers,  or  if  it  should  be  destroyed,  the  daughters 
of  Catholic  parents  who  now  earn  an  honorable  and  remuner- 
ative livelihood  in  it,  would  have  to  find  situations  in  some 
other  sphere,  probably  already  overcrowded.  Many,  if  not  all, 
of  these  Catholic  public  school  teachers  contribute  to  the  sup- 
port of  their  families.  It  would  be  no  financial  help  to  these 
families  to  make  nuns  out  of  their  daughters  who  are  public 
school  teachers. 

I  will  not  urge  upon  Catholic  public  school  teachers  the 
sordid  motive  of  their  professional  protection,  although  that 
motive  is  vitally  related  to  their  future  happiness,  and,  conse- 
quently, needs  no  apology  for  its  pressing.  But  religious  con- 
sistency and  patriotism  should  require  no  additional  calls  to 
action. 

A  league  of  the  Catholic  public  school  teachers  in  Ameri- 
ca for  the  protection  of  the  public  school  is  a  pressing  necessi- 
ty, and  should  be  formed. 


THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOL.  4!$ 

AN    AMENDMENT    TO    THE    CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  UNITED 

STATES. 

To  set  at  rest  the  school  question,  I  entreat  the  American 
people  to  adopt  a  Constitutional  Amendment,  in  conformity 
with  certain  suggestions  urged  by  the  illustrious  General  U.  S. 
Grant  in  his  seventh  and  last  annual  message  to  Congress 
under  date  of  December  7,  1875,  and  his  suggestions,  which  I 
now  urge,  were  as  follows: 

I  suggest  for  your  earnest  consideration,  and  most  ear- 
nestly recommend  it,  that  a  Constitutional  Amendment  be  sub- 
mitted to  the  legislatures  of  the  several  States  for  ratification, 
making  it  the  duty  of  each  of  the  several  States  to  establish  and 
forever  maintain  free  public  schools  adequate  to  the  education 
of  all  the  children  in  the  rudimentary  branches  within  their 
respective  limits,  irrespective  of  sex,  color,  birth-place  or  re- 
ligions ;  forbidding  the  teaching  in  said  schools  of  religious, 
atheistic  or  pagan  tenets ;  and  prohibiting  the  granting  of  any 
school  funds  or  school  taxes,  or  any  part  thereof,  either  by  legis- 
lative, municipal  or  other  authority,  for  the  benefit  or  in  aid, 
directly  or  indirectly,  of  any  religious  sect  or  denomination, 
or  in  aid  or  for  the  benefit  of  any  other  object  of  any  nature 
or  kind  whatever.  .  . 

As  this  will  be  the  last  annual  message  which  I  shall  have 
the  honor  of  transmitting  to  Congress  before  my  successor  is 
chosen,  I  will  repeat  or  recapitulate  the  questions  which  I 
deem  of  vital  importance  which  may  be  legislated  upon  or  set- 
tled at  this  session ;  First.  That  the  States  shall  be  required 
to  afford  the  opportunity  of  a  good  common  school  education 
to  every  child  within  their  limits.  Second.  No  sectarian 
tenets  shall  ever  be  taught  in  any  school  supported  in  whole  or 
in  part  by  the  State,  Nation,  or  by  the  proceeds  of  any  tax 
levied  upon  any  community.  .  .  Third.  Declare  Church  and 
State  forever  separate  and  distinct,  but  each  free  within  their 
proper  spheres.  (Messages  and  Papers  of  the  Presidents, 
Vol.  VII.,  pp.  334,  356.) 

The  name  of  U.  S.  Grant  is  as  imperishable  as  the  country 
which  he  so  loyally  and  signally  served.  His  words  are 
weighty.  The  Constitutional  Amendment,  so  far  as  it  relates 


414  THE  PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL. 

to  public  money  for  sectarian  purposes  and  perpetual  sep- 
aration of  Church  and  State,  which  he  advocated  in  the  fore- 
going quotation,  can  be  adopted  now  because  there  is  an  over- 
whelming majority  of  Americans  intensely  in  favor  of  it. 

That  majority  may  never  grow  less;  and,  yet,  it  may. 
More  than  one  religious  sect  in  America  has  ambitions  to  be 
fulfilled  at  the  public's  expense.  This  Nation  is  not  here  for  a 
day ;  centuries  of  time  lie  before  it.  No  one  can  tell  what  new 
ism  may  arise  which  will  enlist  a  large  following  and  develop 
tendencies  at  variance  with  fundamental  Americanisms.  If 
various  denominations,  old  and  new,  unite  in  insisting  upon 
receiving  public  favor,  a  condition  might  ensue  which  would 
vitally  alter  the  present  course  of  things.  Let  us,  then,  have 
our  National  Constitution  so  outspoken  upon  Church  and 
State  questions  that  no  ism  will  have  any  room  to  quibble! 
Let  the  Constitution  be  so  plain  and  positive  that  any 
ism  which  shows  a  desire  for  public  money  or  special 
privilege  will  thereby  be  stamped  as  a  subverter  of  the  Common- 
wealth. 

There  should  be  an  authoritative  National  Supervision  of 
j  the  education  of  the  children  of  the  Nation  both  in  public  and 
I  in  non-public  schools.     Certain  standards  should  be  fixed,  and 
S'the    Nation    should   insist  upon   their   maintenance.     If  any 
denomination  prefers  to  educate  the  children  of  its  adherents 
in  schools  of  its  own,  let  there  be  insistence  upon  the  main- 
tenance of  the  Nation's  standards  regardless  of  whatever  else 
may  be  in  the  curriculum.     No  ism  should  be  allowed  to  in- 
culcate in  the  minds  of  prospective  citizens  teachings  which 
tend  to  the  overthrow  of  the  Republic. 

The  Catholic  Teaching  Orders  are  hostile  to  the  Ameri- 
can public  school.  They  would  gladly  destroy  it  if  they  could. 
That  public  school  which  hires  a  member  of  a  Catholic  Teach- 
ing Order  to  teach  its  children  is  giving  employment  to  its 
deadly  enemy. 


THE  PUBLIC  SCHOOL.  415 

Under  no  consideration  should  monks  and  nuns,  whether 
clad  in  the  garb  of  their  Religious  Orders  or  in  secular  attire, 
be  permitted  to  teach  in  the  public  schools. 

CONCLUSION. 

The  American  people  should  set  themselves  as  a  wall  of 
granite  against  even  the  shadow  of  sectarian  interference  with 
the  bulwark  of  their  liberties,  the  public  school.  Their  dec- 
laration should  be:  We  will  treat  as  a  deadly  enemy  of  the 
Nation  any  sect  that  attempts  to  undermine  the  public  school, 
or  that  tries  to  get  public  funds. 

The  parochial  school,  ay  it  is,  is  a  curse  to  the  Church  and 
a  menace  to  the  Nation. 

Let  no  one  imagine  that  it  has  been  a  pleasant  task  to  make 
the  appalling  exposures  which  this  book  contains.  It  has  been 
a  labor  of  sorrozv  and  it  would  not  have  been  performed  had  it 
not  been  for  an  overwhelming  conviction  that  it  had  to  be  done 
if  I  would  be  true  to  my  Country,  to  my  Church,  and  to  my  God. 


••^ 


MONSIGNOR  SBARRETTI. 


APPENDIX. 


THE  SEPARATE   OR  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL  IN  CANADA. 


HISTORICAL. 

Among  the  utterances  of  a  prominent  English  statesman, 
during  a  visit  he  paid  to  Canada,  was  a  word  of  warning 
against  the  people  of  the  Dominion  being  beguiled  into  per- 
petuating among  them  any  European  institution  that  might 
tend,  in  the  least  degree,  to  the  injury  of  the  body  politic.  He 
saw  in  Canada  a  nation  only  at  the  beginning  of  its  history, 
and  to  which  opportunity  was,  therefore,  given  to  shape  its 
own  destiny.  Wherefore,  it  seemed  to  him  folly,  in  the  ex- 
treme, for  a  people,  so  situated,  to  trammel  themselves  with 
fetters,  which  the  nations  of  the  Old  World  had  found  an  in- 
superable hindrance  to  their  progress. 

In  whatever  regard  the  Canadian  people  may  have  acted 
according  to  the  spirit  of  this  warning,  in  one  respect,  at  least, 
they  have  not  yielded  to  its  promptings,  namely,  in  educational 
matters ;  but  have  adopted  and  made  part  of  their  educational 
system  one  of  the  worst  features  of  the  educational  systems  of 
Europe — one,  indeed,  from  which  more  than  one  country  of 
the  Old  World,  as  a  result  of  long  years  of  experience  of  it, 
is  putting  forth  a  mighty  effort  to  be  free.  This  feature  is  the 
Church  School.  Known  in  Canada,  not  as  the  Parochial 
School,  the  name  by  which  it  is  called  in  the  United  States, 
but  as  the  Separate  School,  it  has  been  permitted  to  fasten 
itself,  like  a  vampire,  upon  the  national  life  of  the  Dominion, 
on  which  it  is  fattening  without  let  or  hindrance. 

However  secure  in  its  position  the  church  school  may  be 
in  the  United  States,  and  however  extensive  its  ramifications,  in 


418  APPENDIX. 

both  those  regards  it  is  a  vastly  more  formidable  affair  in  Can- 
ada. During  visits  of  investigation  which  I  paid  to  the  Domin- 
ion, I  was  amazed  to  learn  how  firmly  fixed  were  its  roots  in 
the  soil,  and  how  huge  were  its  proportions.  I  am  convinced 
that  the  Canadian  people,  as  a  whole,  are  not  acquainted  with 
the  nature  of  the  separate  school,  and  of  all  that  it  signifies, 
else,  instead  of  allowing  it  to  secure  the  firm  hold  it  has  upon 
their  country,  they  would,  long  ago,  have  put  forth  every 
effort  to  free  themselves  from  its  deadly  grasp.  There  is 
promise,  however,  that  the  Canadian  people  will  not  always 
remain  blind  to  the  vital  injury  they  are  sustaining  through 
permitting  the  separate  school  to  exist  among  them;  there  is 
promise  of  an  early  awakening  to  a  full  realization  of  the  grav- 
ity of  their  position ;  here  and  there  are  men,  earnestly  desir- 
ous of  the  welfare  of  their  country,  who  have  begun  to  see  the 
magnitude  of  the  danger  that  threatens  Canada  through  the 
separate  school;  they  are  confined  to  no  particular  creed,  but 
include  among  them  Catholic  as  well  as  non-Catholic  laymen ; 
and  they  are  actuated,  not  by  religious  bigotry,  but  by  a  lofty 
patriotism  which  has  inspired  them  to  labor  for  the  abolition 
of  the  separate  school ;  and  it  is  to  aid  them  in  their  splendid 
endeavors  that  this  Appendix  is  written,  so  that  Canada  may 
join  hands  with  the  other  nations  of  the  New  World,  which 
have  determined  that  the  sectarian  school,  with  all  other 
tyrranies  of  the  Old  World,  shall  find,  on  their  soil,  no  place 
on  which  their  roots  can  fasten. 

The  church  school,  in  Canada,  is  not  of  yesterday.  In 
Quebec  it  dates  back  to  the  founding  of  that  province  by  the 
French.  And  so  long  as  the  province  remained  a  French  col- 
ony, all  the  schools  within  it  were  entirely  ecclesiastical  in 
character,  the  church  being  then  the  dominant  force  in  the 
colony's  affairs. 

There  can  be  no  question  but  that  this  accounts  largely  for 
the  backwardness  in  education  and  commerce,  which  marked 
the  early  days  of  the  French  settlements  on  the  St.  Lawrence, 
as  contrasted  with  the  steady  advancement  in  those  matters, 


'  THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL.  419 

so  visible  in  the  contemporaneous  history  of  the  English- 
speaking  settlements  to  the  south,  whose  schools  were  virtually 
public  institutions.  Nor  is  it  beyond  the  bounds  of  probability 
that,  had  the  French  colonists,  of  those  bygone  days,  been 
blessed  with  a  better  system  of  education  than  that  vouchsafed 
them,  they  would  have  been  more  capable  than  they  showed 
themselves  of  dealing  wTith  the  events  that  culminated  on  the 
Heights  of  Abraham  in  1759.  The  history  of  French  Canada 
is  but  one  long  series  of  proofs  of  the  smallness  of  the  debt 
of  gratitude  due  the  Catholic  hierarchy  by  the  laity. 

The  lapse  of  years  has  not  wrought  the  slightest  alteration 
on  the  school  system  of  Quebec,  though  the  curriculum  taught 
is,  perhaps,  more  in  keeping  with  the  requirements  of  the 
present  age,  than  was  the  case  in  past  days.  But  the  school  is 
still  sectarian  in  character;  it  is  pre-eminently  religious  in  its 
tone  and  in  regard  to  the  subjects  taught  within  it,  secular  sub- 
jects are  relegated  to  a  purely  secondary  position. . 

So  intensely  sectarian  have  the  schools  of  Quebec  always 
been,  that  non-Catholic  and  even  Catholic  ratepayers,  animated 
by  the  desire  to  secure  for  their  children  an  education  to  fit 
-them  for  the  struggle  of  life,  established,  where  possible, 
schools  with  that  in  view.  This  was  forced  upon  them,  be- 
cause of  the  imperfect  education  furnished  in  the  ordinary 
school,  and,  also,  because  of  .the  hierarchy  dominating  com- 
pletely that  institution. 

In  Quebec  these  schools,  wnich  are  free  from  hierarchical 
tyranny,  are  described  as  separate  schools ;  but  that  term  is  a 
misnomer.  They  are  merely  separate  in  the  sense  of  being  en- 
tirely apart  from  sectarian  influences  and  hierarchical  jurisdic- 
tion. They  are,  truly  speaking,  public  establishments.  Their 
only  object  is  to  equip  the  young  with  the  knowledge  neces- 
sary to  them,  if  they  would  take  their  proper  place  in  the  world. 
Nothing  occurs  within  them  to  jar  upon  the  sensibilities  of  the 
scholars,  whatever  their  religious  predilections.  So  universallv 
is  this  recognized;  and,  at  the  same  time,  so  high  the  standard 
of  education  provided,  in  comparison  with  that  of  the  church 


420  APPENDIX. 

school,  that  many  Catholic  parents  send  their  children  to  them 
to  finish  their  education.  It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  Sir  Wil- 
frid Laurier,  Premier  of  Canada,  himself  a  most  loyal  member 
of  the  Catholic  Church  and  the  son  of  most  devout  Catholic 
parents,  completed  his  elementary  education  in  a  non-Catholic 
school. 

The  law  which  fastened  on  Quebec  this  dual  system  of  edu- 
cation was  part  of  the  British  North  America  Act  by  which 
the  provinces  of  Canada  were  federated.  At  the  time  of  that 
event  an  opportunity  was  afforded  of  establising  a  national 
system  of  education,  which  would  be  entirely  untinged  by  sec- 
tarianism. The  opportunity  was,  however,  lost,  owing  to  the 
attitude  of  the  Quebec  hierarchy,  who  saw  in  such  a  proposal 
a  means  by  which  the  French-Canadians  could  escape  from 
their  control. 

It  must  not  be  thought  that  the  laity  of  Quebec  are  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  church  school.  Time  and  again  efforts  have 
been  made  by  public-spirited  laymen  to  nationalize  the  school 
system.  Not  so  many  years  ago  a  strong  effort  was  put  forth 
to  have  a  law  passed,  placing  public  instruction  wholly  in  the 
hands  of  the  laity.  A  patriotic  member  of  the  then  govern- 
ment was  responsible  for  this  move.  He  was  desired  by  the 
hierarchy  to  withdraw  the  measure.  His  reply  was  a  direct  re- 
fusal. They  threatened  him  with  excommunication,  but  he  held 
firm  to  his  purpose.  He  declared  that  he  would  tolerate  no 
clerical  dictation  upon  a  question  of  so  much  public  moment. 
As  a  last  resource,  the  hierarchy  appealed  to  the  Pope,  who 
sent  a  personal  request  that  the  measure  should  be  abandoned. 
Such  pressure  was  too  weighty  for  a  loyal  son  of  the  Church  to 
resist,  and  the  law  was  never  passed. 

All  over  the  province  are  heard  mutterings  against  the 
school  system.  The  French-Canadian,  easy  going  though  he 
be  on  most  matters,  is  not  satisfied  with  the  instruction  his 
children  receive.  He  would  like  them  to  be  better  educated  than 
they  are,  but  how  to  bring  that  about  is  beyond  him.  The 
priest  is  his  master,  arid  he  must  bend,  however  unwillingly. 


THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL.  42! 

But  his  discontent  will  not,  for  all  time,  confine  itself  to  mere 
mutterings;  sooner  than  is  believed,  it  will  break  forth  into 
wild  clamours  and  actions,  perhaps  equally  wild,  that  his  chil- 
dren's welfare  may  be  assured.  The  same  blood  that  ran  riot 
at  the  revolution  in  France  flows  in  the  veins  of  the  Quebec 
habitant.  It  has  in  it  elements  that  make  for  the  extremes!: 
tenderness  and  a  patience,  unsurpassed  by  that  of  any  people ; 
but  there  are  also  in  it  an  undying  resentment  of  injustice  and 
the  ungovernable  "berserker  rage"  of  the  Frank  and  the 
Norseman,  which  have  come  down  through  the  centuries  un- 
modified by  the  influences  of  civilization.  One  cannot  say  what 
scenes  may  yet  be  witnessed  in  the  valleys  of  Quebec,  which 
seem,  at  present,  the  very  abode  of  peace. 

SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOLS  MAINTAINED  AT  THE 
EXPENSE  OF  THE  PUBLIC. 

Being  enacted  bv  law  when  the  provinces  were  federated, 
the  dual  system  of  education  became  a  burden  upon  the  public 
moneys.  That  is  to  say,  the  church  school  is  maintained  at  the 
public  expense.  In  the  United  States  this  institution  has,  as 
yet,  no  place  in  the  la\v  of  the  land ;  it  receives-  nothing  from 
the  State  towards  its  support ;  it  is  maintained  alone  by  the 
people  whose  children  make  use  of  it.  But  in  Quebec,  not  only 
do  the  school  rates  of  the  Catholic  laity  go  to  the  church 
school,  but  also  a  share  of  the  provincial  moneys.  This  means, 
of  course,  that  non-Catholic  ratepayers,  as  well  as  Catholics, 
whose  children  attend  the  non-sectarian  school,  contribute  to 
the  support  of  the  church  school.  A  man's  money  is  taken  and 
used  for  the  maintenance  of  an  institution,  not  only  to  which 
he  is  opposed,  but  which  also  time  has  shown  to  be  a  danger  to 
the  public  weal. 

THE  SEPARATE  SCHOOL  IN  ONTARIO. 

Speaking  broadly,  the  system  that  obtains  in  Quebec  is  in 
vogue  also  in  Ontario.  The  Catholic  school  has  also  there  a 
legal  existence,  and,  besides,  'receives  assistance  from  the  pro- 


422  APPENDIX. 

vincial  moneys.  The  people  of  Ontario  have  never  ceased  to 
regret  this  becoming  law,  because  it  has  been  upon  them  no 
light  burden  in  more  ways  than  can  be  mentioned. 

For  one  thing,  the  expense  is  heavy  on  a  population  so  lim- 
ited in  numbers  as  that  of  Ontario,  considering  that  the  money 
that  goes  for  that  purpose  is  in  addition  to  the  amount  ex- 
pended on  public  schools.  According  to  the  most  recent  sta- 
tistics available,  those  of  1903,  the  sum  spent  on  Catholic  sep- 
arate schools  in  that  era  was  $435,440.00,  no  inconsiderable 
amount  for  a  struggling  people  to  be  out. 

Nor  is  it  as  if  any  real  need  existed  for  the  separate  school. 
All  over  the  province  are  public  schools  which  are  quite  ade- 
quate for  the  educational  demands  of  the  population. 

The  sum  mentioned  is  $43,812.00  in  excess  of  the  previous 
year's  expenditure  for  the  same  purpose.  Indeed,  the  cost  of 
the  separate  schools  has  been  steadily  growing  in  magnitude, 
and  the  certainty  is  that  each  succeeding  year,  henceforward, 
will  see  a  greater  charge  on  the  province  in  this  direction. 

That  this  is  not  mere  conjecture  may  be  judged  by  the  tre- 
mendous activity  of  the  Catholic  hierarchy,  during  the  past 
year,  not  only  to  secure  to  themselves  a  greater  share  of  the 
public  moneys  than  has  hitherto  been  accorded  to  them,  but 
also  to  increase  the  number  of  separate  schools  by  every  means 
at  their  command. 

THE  STURGEON  FALLS  CASE. 

Of  the  former  matter,  the  Sturgeon  Falls  case  is  a  typical 
example  of  their  methods  of  working.  The  circumstances  of 
this  case  gained  a  wide  notoriety  a  little  over  a  year  ago.  They 
were  then  brought  before  the  Ontario  legislature,  but  such  \vas 
the  influence  of  the  hierarchy,  the  true  facts  of  the  case  were 
smothered  up,  and  only  the  most  distorted  version  of  the  affair 
given  to  the  house.  The  true  inwardness  of  the  case  reveals 
the  hierarchy  in  a  light  far  from  creditable. 

In  1896,  Messrs.  Heath,  Hart  and  Paget,  of  Huntsville, 
Ontario,  Canada,  formed  the  Sturgeon  Falls  Pulp  Company. 


I    UNIVERSITY 

THE  SEPARATE  OR   PAROCHL> 

It  was  intended  that  the  operations  of  the  company  should  be 
carried  on  at  Sturgeon  Falls,  now  a  thriving  town  of  over  two 
thousand  inhabitants,  but  then  a  struggling  village,  just  begin- 
ning to  assert  itself  amid  the  dense  forests  of  New  Ontario. 

Before  commencing  operations  the  newly-created  corpora- 
tion asked  a  bonus  of  $7,000  from  the  youthful  municipality. 
The  residents  were  fairly  equally  divided  as  regards  religion ; 
the  Catholics  were  mostly  French-Canadian  by  blood,  but  a 
small  percentage  being  of  Irish  extraction.  However,  though 
differing  in  religion,  all  were  united  in  the  desire  to  have  the 
proposed  industry  established  in  the  locality.  The  gain  to  the 
district  would  be  incalculable.  They  saw  in  imagination  their 
insignificant  village  transformed  into  a  busy  city ;  they  saw,  in- 
stead of  the  silent,  unprofitable  woods,  which  girt  them  on 
every  side,  splendid  streets  grow  up,  lined  with  lofty  business 
offices  gr  with  noble  mansions;  they  saw,  also,  themselves  and 
their  children,  no  longer  battling  against  indigence,  but  gener- 
ously dowered  with  all  the  evidences  of  wealth.  Can  it  be  won- 
dered, then,  that  they  grasped  greedily  at  the  proposal  made 
them,  and  without  hesitation  pledged  themselves  to  pay  the 
bonus  demanded  ?  Seven  thousand  dollars  was  but  a  small  sum 
to  exchange  for  the  prosperity  of  which  the  industry  would 
assure  them. 

A  PRIEST  APPEARS  ON  THE  SCENE. 

But  before  the  bargain  was  concluded,  they  learned  they 
had  an  interest  to  consider  to  which  they  had  given  no  thought, 
and  which,  like  the  apple  of  Paris,  proved,  in  very  truth,  a 
source  of  discord  that  even  yet  remains.  This  interest  was  the 
separate  school  of  the  place,  and  the  individual  who  reminded 
them  of  its  claims  upon  them,  was  the  local  priest.  He  inter- 
viewed personally  one  after  another  of  the  most  prominent 
members  of  his  church ;  and  required  them,  by  the  duty  they 
owed  the  Church,  to  insist  upon  a  share  of  the  assessment  of 
the  contemplated  mills,  being  paid  to  the  support  of  the  sep- 
arate school. 


424  APPENDIX. 

At  first  he  was  met  with  loud  demurs.  Such  a  demand  was 
not  legal.  According  to  the  law  of  the  province,  the  municipal 
lates,  with  the  exception  of  the  assessments  of  separate  school 
supporters,  go  to  the  public  school.  It  was,  therefore,  beyond 
the  people  to  act  upon  the  priest's  instructions.  And,  more- 
over, to  make  any  motion  towards  doing  so,  seemed  hardly 
manly.  It  was  of  the  nature  of  a  hold-up,  a  kind  of  highway 
robbery,  and  did  not  savour  at  all  pleasantly  in  their  nostrils. 

The  thunders  of  the  Church  were  brought  into  requisi- 
tion, and  the  demurring  ceased.  The  demand  was  ma.de. 
Resistance  was  the  attitude  of  the  public  school  trustees ;  but 
these  bethought  themselves  that,  perhaps,  when  so  great  a 
benefit  would  accrue  to  the  place  through  the  projected  enter- 
prise, they  might  make  the  sacrifice  demanded.  They  signed 
an  agreement,  granting  to  the  separate  school  supporters  what 
they  asked.  This  they  did  without  consulting  the  ratepayers 
whom  they  represented.  As  has  been  mentioned,  the  place 
was  only  in  the  first  stage  of  its  municipal  existence;  all  the 
residents  were  new  to  the  district,  and  very  few  of  them  had 
any  idea  as  to  the  proper  method  of  conducting  municipal 
business ;  it  was  easy,  therefore,  for  irregularities  to  occur  in 
the  transaction  of  public  matters.  But  ignorance  on  the  part 
of  the  public  school  trustees  of  the  obligation  incumbent  upon 
them  to  consult  the  ratepayers  before  binding  the  latter  to 
any  agreement  did  not  take  away  from  the  valuelessness  of 
the  document  in  the  eyes  of  the  law. 

WAR  Is  PROCLAIMED. 

Two  years  elapsed  before  the  erection  of  the  mills  was 
begun.  Meanwhile  the  company  that  had  been  granted  the 
bonus  had  become  defunct,  and  the  work  had  passed  to  the 
hands  of  an  English  corporation,  to  which  were  transferred 
all  the  rights  of  the  original  company,  including  the  obligation 
of  Sturgeon  Falls  municipality.  The  mills  had  hardly  been 
erected,  when,  at  the  instigation  of  the  Bishop  of  Peter- 
borough, within  whose  diocese  Sturgeon  Falls  lies,  a  demand 


THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL.  425 

was  made  by  the  separate  school  trustees  for  a  share  of  the 
assessment.  The  public  school  trustees,  who  had  by  this  time 
learned  the  illegal  character  of  the  instrument,  refused  to  im- 
plement it.  The  public  school  ratepayers,  who  now  were 
informed  of  its  existence  for  the  first  time,  made  known  their 
opposition  to  it ;  and  a  large  proportion  of  the  separate  school 
supporters  also  expressed  their  indignation  that  an  attempt 
should  be  made  to  hold  their  fellow-townsmen  to  such  an 
agreement. 

THE  BISHOP  FORCES  THE  LEGISLATURE. 

The  Bishop  then  began  to  bestir  himself.  He  determined 
to  make  use  of  the  provincial  legislature  to  have  the  agree- 
ment ratified.  And  he  chose  well  the  moment  in  which  to 
approach  that  body.  For  the  political  situation,  at  the  time, 
was  of  a  most  acute  character.  The  liberal  administration, 
then  in  power,  had  hardly  a  working  majority,  and,  therefore, 
could  not  afford  to  alienate  the  Catholic  vote.  While  the  Con- 
servative party  was  in  precisely  the  same  position,  and  would 
hesitate  to  oppose  any  measure  which  had  the  Catholic  hier- 
archy behind  it. 

Acting  on  the  Bishop's  instructions,  Mr.  Joseph  Michaud, 
the  sitting  member  for  North  Nipissing,  the  constituency 
within  which  Sturgeon  Falls  is  situated,  introduced  a  bill  to 
legalize  the  agreement.  The  Bishop  anticipated  no  obstruc- 
tion being  offered  to  the  passing  of  the  measure.  And  he 
was  right  in  his  opinion.  Both  parties  were  servile  enough  to 
do  his  bidding;  and  the  bill  was  hurried  through  the  legisla- 
ture in  the  shortest  possible  time,  and  became  law,  without 
even  a  voice  being  raised  against  it. 

The  question  may  well  be  asked  as  to  why  the  members 
of  the  legislature,  who  are  the  properly  constituted  protectors 
of  the  people's  liberties,  so  far  forgot  their  duty  as  to  become: 
the  puppets  of  an  ecclesiastical  autocrat.  They  were  not 
surely  animated  by  a  public  spirit  which  would  have  pre- 
vented them  placing  aught  before  the  welfare  of  the  province. 


426  APPENDIX 

It  was  for  votes  they  were  looking,  and  as  long  as  these  were 
assurefi  they  recked  little  of  the  public  weal. 

How  true  this  is,  was  proved  later  when  an  effort  was 
made  by  the  public  school  supporters  of  Sturgeon  Falls  to 
re-open  the  question  by,  first,  petitioning  the  legislature  to 
repeal  the  bill,  and,  afterwards,  when  that  failed,  by  a  direct 
appeal  to  the  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  province  not  to  sign 
the  measure.  The  petition  received  the  scantest  of  considera- 
tion, and  was  summarily  rejected;  while  the  appeal  to  the 
representative  of  the  King  was  not  supported  by  a  single 
member,  and,  therefore,  necessarily  met  with  the  same  fate. 

AN  APPEAL  TO  THE  CIVIL  COURTS. 

In  their  determination  not  to  submit  to  so  gross  an  injus- 
tice, the  Sturgeon  Falls  public  school  ratepayers  appealed  to 
the  law  courts  on  the  ground  that  the  action  of  the  legisla- 
ture was  ultra  vires.  But  who  are  they  to  fight  single-handed 
against  the  Catholic  hierarchy?  As  well  may  they  hope  to  do 
so  unsupported,  as  to  beat  back  the  waves  of  the  sea.  An 
illegal  instrument  has  been  legalized,  the  liberty  of  the  subject 
overridden  and  a  municipality  saddled  with  a  burden  by  which 
its  interests  will  be  injured  for  all  time  to  come.  But  not. 
only  so:  a  precedent  also  has  been  established  for  demands, 
by  the  Catholic  hierarchy,  of  the  same  nature  throughout  the 
whole  province.  To  what  length  the  hierarchy  may  go  in 
this  direction  is,  indeed,  impossible  to  tell.  History  teaches 
that  once  a  privilege  is  conceded  them  in  any  connection,  they 
make  it  a  kind  of  outwork  from  which  to  capture  further 
privileges.  Is  it,  then,  an  exaggeration  to  say  that  the  whole 
public  moneys  of  the  province  are  threatened?  Given  time, 
and  the  public  school  system  will  be  entirely  at  the  mercy  of 
the  hierarchy.  The  public  moneys  that  already  go  toward 
public  schools  will  be  largely  diverted  towards  the  separate 
schools.  In  view  of  this,  the  province  may  yet  witness  the 
inspiring  spectacle  of  public  school  supporters  being  forced 


THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL.  427 

to  go  hat  in  hand  to  the  Catholic  hierarchy  for  the  necessary 
funds  to  maintain  national  education. 

The  danger  that  threatens  the  rights  of  individuals  can- 
not be  overestimated.  According  to  the  constitution  of  the 
province  every  ratepayer  has  a  right  to  say  in  what  direction 
his  school  assessments  shall  go,  whether  toward  the  support 
of  the  public  or  separate  schools.  The  legalising  of  the  agree- 
ment is  an  infringement  of  that  right.  This  is  the  ground 
taken  by  the  Imperial  Paper  Mills  Company,  the  corporation 
presently  operating  at  Sturgeon  Falls,  in  its  opposition  to  the 
terms  of  the  agreement. 

MR.  CRAIG'S  STATEMENT. 

Speaking  for  the  company,  Mr.  John  Craig,  managing 
director,  said,  in  an  interview  published  in  the  Toronto  Tele- 
gram on  29th  March,  1904: 

In  our  mills  and  camps  we  employ  both  Catholics  and 
Protestants,  irrespective  of  their  religious  convictions,  and 
looking  only  to  their  capacity  to  do  good  work.  All  our 
shareholders,  without  one  exception,  are  Protestants,  and  have 
expressed  no  desire  whatever  that  part  of  their  taxes  should 
go  to  the  separate  school.  The  law  of  Canada,  under  which 
the  separate  schools  exist,  gives  the  right  to  Catholic  share- 
holders only  to  dispose  of  their  proportion  of  the  taxation 
to  separate  schools.  This  is  the  constitutional  law  of  On- 
tario, and,  in  the  view  of  the  directors  of  the  Paper  Company, 
cannot  be  overridden. 

How  far  Mr.  Craig  erred  in  his  final  conclusion  is  shewn 
by  the  fact  of  the  bill  having  been  made  law.  Mr.  Craig,  in 
his  process  of  reasoning,  failed  to  take  into  account  the 
Catholic  hierarchy  as  a  political  force,  hence  his  mistake. 
And  it  is  this  that  is  to  be  dreaded  —  the  influence  of  the 
hierarchy  over  politicians.  It  has  proved  stronger  than  the 
constitutional  right  of  the  individual  in  one  case.  But  will 
the  hierarchy  stop  there?  Will  they  not  rather  remain  unsat- 
isfied until  they  have  control  of  the  whole  country?  Whose 


428  APPENDIX. 

rights  are  safe,  so  long  as  the  hierarchy  can  dictate  the  policy 
of  the  State? 

CAPITALISTS  INTIMIDATED. 

There  is  still  another  aspect  of  the  Sturgeon  Falls  case 
that  cannot  be  too  strongly  emphasised.  It  grows  out  of  the 
last  point  dealt  with.  It  is  this:  Will  capitalists  be  inclined  to 
invest  money  in  a  province  in  which  they  have  no  assurance 
of  their  constitutional  rights  as  individuals  being  respected? 
Where  there  is  no  respect  for  individual  rights,  there  can 
be  no  security  for  money.  The  one  necessarily  implies  the 
other.  Wherefore  the  encroachments  of  the  hierarchy  on 
education,  are  a  menace  to  the  development  of  the  country. 

Sturgeon  Falls  is  on  the  edge  of  New  Ontario,  that  vast 
region  of  Upper  Canada  still  waiting  development.  Indica- 
tions point  to  the  Catholic  hierarchy  enacting  again  the  part 
of  highway  robber  toward  every  corporation  which  proposes 
to  establish  a  new  industry  in  the  virgin  territory.  Where 
then  exists  the  inducement  for  capitalists  to  risk  their  wealth 
in  the  exploitation  of  the  resources  of  the  land?  The  un- 
tilled  fields  of  Spain,  one  of  the  most  fertile  lands  in  Europe, 
stand,  in  all  their  unprofitableness,  as  a  monument  to  the 
tyranny  and  rapacity  of  the  hierarchy  of  that  country.  Is 
there  promise  of  New  Ontario  being  ever  more  than  a  waste, 
while  opportunity  is  given  to  the  hierarchy  of  the  province 
to  claim  any  share  of  public  moneys? 

INCREASE  OF  SEPARATE  SCHOOLS. 

The  public  school  system  itself  is  not  safe.  The  statis- 
tics, from  which  a  quotation  has  already  been  given,  speak 
of  an  increase  in  Ontario  of  nineteen  separate  schools  for  the 
year,  as  against  an  increase  of  eight  public  schools  for  the 
same  period.  The  increase  in  the  case  of  the  separate  schools 
cannot  be  ascribed  to  natural  growth.  It  has  not  been  due 
to  a  proportionate  advance  in  the  number  of  Catholic  children 
in  the  province.  During  the  past  ten  years  and  more,  there 
has  not  been  any  extraordinary  addition  to  the  Catholic  popu- 


THE  SEPARATE  OK  PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL.  429 

lation  of  the  province  through  immigration,  nor  are  Catholic 
families  larger  as  a  rule  than  the  families  of  non-Catholics. 
There  has  been  a  hiving-off,  on  the  part  of  non-Catholics, 
toward  the  west  as  well  as  into  the  United  States,  and  the 
consequence  is  that  the  increase  in  that  section  of  the  popula- 
tion has  not  been  as  proportionately  large,  as  it  should  have 
been.  The  figures  for  the  ten  years  between  1891  and  1901 
are  as  follows:  Total  increase  in  population,  68,626;  non- 
Catholic  increase,  36,622 ;  Catholic  increase,  32,004 ;  average 
non-Catholic  increase  per  year,  3,662;  average  Catholic  in- 
crease per  year,  3,200. 

At  that  rate,  the  increase  of  separate  schools  should  have 
been  slightly  less  than  that  of  public  schools ;  certainly  on 
no  account  larger.  How,  then,  does  it  come  that  the  increase 
of  the  former  for  one  year  is  more  than  twice  as  great  as 
that  of  the  latter?  The  cause  is  easy  of  explanation.  The 
Catholic  hierarchy  are  breaking  up  existing  public  schools, 
indeed,  in  many  instances  capturing  them ;  and  forcing  upon 
the  laity  of  the  Catholic  Church  the  separate  school  system. 

The  difficulty  I  experienced  is  not  that  I  have  to  search 
for  an  instance  of  such  high-handed  proceedings ;  but  to 
make  a  selection,  from  the  large  number,  within  my  knowl- 
edge, of  such  as  are  typical. 

THE  BELLROCK  CASE. 

The  first  I  would  cite,  of  this  character,  is  the  establish- 
ing of  the  separate  school,  a  few  years  ago,  at  the  village  of 
Bellrock,  Frontenac  County,  Ontario,  Canada.  Although  the 
community  of  this  district  has  always  been  mixed,  as  regards 
religion,  the  inhabitants  being  of  Irish,  Scots  and  French- 
Canadian  descent,  from  the  time  of  its  being  settled,  the 
school  was  a  public  one.  Whatever  might  be  their  religious 
predilections,  the  people  were  friendly  to  each  other  in  the 
highest  degree;  they  assisted  each  other  at  loggings,  at  the 
raising  of  barns  and  in  the  thousand  other  things  that  make 
farmers  all  the  world  over,  mutually  dependent.  In  short, 


43O  APPENDIX. 

they  mutually  bore  themselves  as  good  neighbours.  As  one 
of  the  old  setttlers  expressed  it:  "We  have  to  live  here  to- 
gether— Catholics  and  Protestants  alike.  Friendliness,  there- 
fore, is  needful ;  and  we  have  been  friends." 

With  such  a  spirit  as  that  animating  the  people,  it  will 
be  readily  believed  that  the  motion  to  establish  a  separate 
school  in  the  district  did  not  emanate  from  them.  On  the  con- 
trary, not  one  of  them  even  dreamt  of  such  an  eventuality 
ever  occurring.  They  were  content  and  saw  no  reason  for 
a  change.  To  them  a  change  meant  an  extra  financial  burden, 
a  poorer  education  for  their  children  and  a  cleavage  between 
Catholics  and  non-Catholics  which  would  be  to  the  disadvan- 
tage of  the  members  of  either  faith. 

THE  BISHOP  ACTIVE. 

The  motion  came  from  the  then  Bishop  of  Kingston, 
whose  jurisdiction  embraced  Bellrock.  Acting  under  his 
order  the  local  priest  announced  one  Sunday  in  the  church 
that  a  separate  school  would  be  established  in  the  district,  and 
called  upon  all  Catholics  to  give  it  their  heartiest  support. 
With  very  few  exceptions,  the  people  burned  with  indigna- 
tion at  the  proposal.  What  right,  the  bulk  of  the  Catholics 
of  the  district  asked,  what  right  had  the  Bishop  to  dictate  to 
them  respecting  such  a  matter  as  the  school?  Let  him  attend 
to  affairs  within  the  sphere  of  religion,  and  leave  them  to  look 
after  the  education  of  their  children. 

Meetings  were  convened  by  the  indignant  Catholics  at 
which  protests  were  passed  against  the  proposed  school.  A 
deputation  waited  upon  the  priest  to  ask  him  to  desist  from 
his  purpose.  The  delegates  pointed  out  to  him  that  the  exist- 
ing school  amply  sufficed  for  the  .district.  Their  children 
were  making  excellent  progress  in  their  studies  under  the 
teacher  in  charge;  and  the  erecting  of  a  separate  school 
would  imply  the  ruin  of  the  existing  educational  establish- 
ment. 


THE  SEPARATE  OK  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL.         431 

The  priest  was  obdurate.  He  had  his  instructions  and 
was  bound  to  carry  them  out. 

Seeing  no  help  in  the  priest  the  delegates  proceeded  to 
the  head  of  the  diocese  to  induce  him  to  reconsider  his  pur- 
pose. They  were  not  even  listened  to ;  but  bidden  imperiously 
to  return  to  their  homes,  and  make  the  necessary  arrange- 
ments for  the  establishing  of  a  separate  school. 

PEOPLE  LEAVE  THE  DISTRICT. 

So  disgusted  were  several  of  the  delegates  with  the  treat- 
ment they  received  that  they  determined  there  and  then  to 
leave  the  Church.  All  the  Catholics,  however,  were  not  in- 
clined to  adopt  so  extreme  measures.  The  Church  of  their 
fathers  was  too  dear  to  them,  for  them  to  dream  of  abandon- 
ing its  pale.  They  could,  though,  leave  the  district;  and  this 
more  than  one  family  did,  taking  up  their  abode  in  a  com- 
munity in  which,  they  felt  assured  their  children  would  enjoy 
the  benefits  of  a  public  school  education. 

To-day,  a  separate  school  stands  at  Bellrock.  It  is  well 
attended.  The  resident  Catholics  send  their  children  to  it  for 
instruction ;  but  they  do  so  with  a  grudge.  It  is  fear  of  the 
loss  of  the  rites  of  the  Church  —  a  threat  that  was  held  over 
them  if  they  kept  back  their  children  —  that  ensures  their 
children's  attendance.  If  they  saw  any  opportunity  by  which 
they  could  successfully  combat  the  tyranny  of  the  hierarchy 
in  this  regard  they  would  gladly  seize  it.  But  they  are  bound 
by  fetters  from  which,  however  galling,  they  see  no  hope 
of  escape. 

The  public  school  of  the  community  is  languishing. 
There  is  no  chance  of  its  thriving  so  long  as  the  separate 
school  remains  open.  Thus  in  that  district  have  the  hierarchy 
struck  a  vital  blow  at  a  national  institution,  and  through  it 
inflicted  injury  to  the  nation's  life. 


432  APPENDIX. 

AN  INDEPENDENT  CATHOLIC. 

One  gratifying  feature  in  connection  with  the  Bellrock 
episode  remains  to  be  mentioned.  It  is  the  independence  dis- 
played by  a  French-Canadian  Catholic,  Adolphus  Perault  by 
name.  This  man  denounced  at  the  very  outset,  the  movement 
to  establish  a  separate  school,  and,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  the  whole  influence  of  the  Church  was  brought  to  bear 
upon  him  to  recede  from  his  position,  he  continued  firm  in  his 
opposition.  He  was  denied  Church  rites,  practically  ostra- 
cised by  the  directions  of  the  priest,  but  he  did  not  waver. 
And  so  he  remains  to  this  day,  unflinching  in  his  resolution 
against  the  hierarchy  having  any  claim  to  interfere  in  matters 
of  education. 

All  honour  to  him.  He  is  of  the  breed  of  heroes.  There 
is  hope  for  a  country  that  holds  a  man  like  him.  His  spirit 
cannot  but  serve  to  animate  others  to  resist,  to  their  utmost 
strength,  every  attempt  to  encroach  upon  their  liberty. 

THE  CURRAN  CASE. 

At  Curran,  Prescott  County,  Ontario,  Canada,  the  hier- 
archy were  even  more  successful,  than  at  Bellrock,  in  their 
attack  upon  the  public  school.  The  province  of  Ontario 
boasts  of  few  places  more  retired  and  more  entirely  rural  than 
the  little  village  of  Curran.  Containing  only  some  half  dozen 
houses,  it  hardly  reaches  to  the  dignity  of  a  village ;  and  it  is 
quite  arcadian  in  its  beauty  and  simplicity.  Passing  into  it 
from  the  hum  of  the  world,  one  cannot  help  feeling,  as  he 
notes  the  small  cluster  of  houses,  the  green  fields  stretching 
on  every  side  into  the  distance  and  broken  here  and  there 
by  shady  groves,  that  here  at  least  is  a  place  where  peace 
reigns,  where  life  flows  on  quietly  and  sluggishly,  undisturbed 
by  any  great  issues. 

But  appearances  are  proverbially  deceptive;  and  that 
adage  may  be  safely  applied  to  the  secluded  hamlet  of  Curran : 
for  that  rural  spot,  though  it  knows  little  and,  perhaps,  cares 


THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHTAL  SCHOOL.  433 

less  for  the  great  issues  that  occupy  the  country  at  large,  has 
passed  through  the  throes  of  a  convulsion  which,  while  it 
lasted,  made  hearts  burn  with  the  passion  of  hate  and  resent- 
ment of  wrong,  and  whose  effects  still  endure  in  shattered 
friendships  and  breasts  from  which  the  bitterness,  engen- 
dered by  injuries  sustained,  will  not  disappear  as  long  as  life 
lasts. 

The  cause  of  the  convulsion  which  rent  the  Curran  dis- 
trict was  the  school  question. 

BUILDING  OF  FIRST  SCHOOL. 

The  district  was  settled  a  little  over  sixty  years  ago,  by 
English,  Irish  and  French-Canadian  immigrants.  In  religion, 
Catholics  preponderated  numerically ;  but  that  weighed  noth- 
ing when  the  first  school  came  to  be  built.  The  first  school 
was  public  in  character,  and  was  erected  by  the  combined 
help  of  all  the  settlers,  each  of  whom  vied  with  his  neigh- 
bours in  the  amount  of  work  he  did  for  the  structure  that 
meant  so  much  for  the  wellbeing  of  the  children  of  the  little 
community.  The  structure  that  was  built,  was  merely  of  rude 
logs ;  but  it  was  in  keeping  with  the  homes  of  the  builders, 
in  whose  eyes  it,  therefore,  lacked  nothing. 

Time,  however,  elapsed  and  the  community  grew,  not 
only  in  numbers,  but  also  in  wealth  and  importance.  The 
land  in  the  district  was  of  good  quality  for  farming;  and 
soon  the  rough  cabins  that  had,  at  first,  sufficed  for  the  homes 
of  Lhe  inhabitants,  were  exchanged  for  substantial  brick  struc- 
tures. The  prosperity  of  the  residents  made  them  generous 
in  public  matters,  and  the  proposal  was  set  afoot  to  rebuild 
the  school.  The  suggestion  was  at  once  acted  upon,  and  the 
whole  community  joined  together,  as  before,  and  contributed 
to  the  task  in  both  money  and  time.  No  compulsion  was 
required  to  induce  any  of  the  community  to  pay  toward  the 
necessary  expense.  All  gave  freely,  and  all  bore  a  part  in 
drawing  the  requisite  materials. 

This   was   twenty-two   years   ago,    and    the    school    then 


434  APPENDIX. 

erected,  a  handsome  two-story  brick  building,  costing  $2,800, 
stands  to-day  as  a  monument  to  the  public  spirit  and  mutual 
goodwill  of  the  builders.  Incredible  as  it  may  appear,  though 
many  of  these  are  still  living  in  the  locality,  the  school  is  no 
longer  in  their  hands.  That  is  to  say,  the  school  for  which 
they  toiled  and  paid,  and  which,  therefore,  by  every  right  under 
heaven  should  belong  to  them,  has  been  riven  from  them  and 
given  to  others  who  had  no  part  in  its  erection. 

MACHINERY  OF  LAW  DEFECTIVE. 

What  has  the  law  of  the  country  to  say  to  that?  Is  there 
no  machinery  by  which  it  could  have  prevented  so  great  an 
injustice?  This  is  the  most  curious  feature  of  the  whole 
affair.  The  builders  of  the  public  school  were  deprived  of 
their  property  by  the  aid  of  the  law. 

It  happened  in  this  wise:  Within  the  last  few  years 
the  district  began  to  till  up  with  French-Canadians.  Some 
of  the  old  settlers  had  died,  and  their  children  had  removed 
to  the  city  or  made,  for  the  West.  Altogether,  only  about  a 
score  of  the  original  families  remained. 

AN  ARDENT  ULTRAMOTANE  PRIEST. 

Also  a  new  priest  had  arrived  to  occupy  the  presbytery. 
The  former  rector,  Father  O'Boyle,  had  been  a  man  of  large 
heart  and  wide  sympathies.  He  was  as  much  beloved  by  the 
Protestants  of  the  community  as  by  his  own  flock.  But  his 
successor,  Father  Major,  a  young  man  of  French-Canadian 
blood,  had  within  him  all  the  passion  of  the  zealot.  Of 
strong  ultramontaine  tendencies,  he  lived  solely  for  the  exten- 
sion of  the  power  of  the  hierarchy.  And  the  school  was  his 
first  point  of  attack  on  the  liberties  of  his  flock. 

The  attack  was  begun  as  soon  as  he  was  properly  settled 
in  the  place.  He  did  not  move  publicly  in  the  matter.  Ardent 
though  he  was,  he  had  too  much  craft  for  that.  He  did  not 
wish  to  be  regarded  as  the  inciter  of  a  movement  that  would 
be  unpopular  with  the  vast  body  of  the  residents.  So  he  set 


'  THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL.  435 

about  influencing,  in  private,  the  most  recent  settlers  to  adopt 
his  views.  How  well  he  succeeded  may  be  judged  from  the 
fact  that  at  the  close  of  1903,  or  within  a  few  months  after 
his  advent,  separate  school  trustees  were  elected  and  the 
school  transferred  to  them  for  the  nominal  sum  of  $50. 

CHILDREN  EXPELLED  FROM  THE  SCHOOL. 

The  next  thing  was  to  compel  the  children  of  non- 
Catholics  to  leave  the  school,  for  these  still  attended,  their 
parents  not  having  been  legally  notified  of  the  sale.  But 
the  story  had  best  be  told  in  the  words  of  Mr.  S.  A.  Presley, 
a  son  of  one  of  the  original  settlers,  and  a  public  school  sup- 
porter, whose  little  ones,  three  in  number,  had  to  endure  all 
the  shame  of  being  publicly  turned  out  of  the  school. 

MR.  PRESLEY'S  STATEMENT. 

In  an  interview  with  the  press,  dated  15  June,  1904,  he 
says: 

We  had  heard  that  the  school  had  been  transferred  to 
the  separate  school  party.  We  had  no  official  knowledge  of 
the  sale.  I  attended  a  meeting  in  July  last,  at  which  the  sale 
is  said  to  have  been  authorised.  No  official  notification  of 
the  meeting  was  given  me ;  but  I  thought  I  had  better  go  to 
prevent,  if  I  could,  any  injury  being  done  to  the  public  school 
interests.  I  read  at  the  meeting  a  letter  from  the  Minister 
of  Education,  stating  that  the  school  could  not  be  sold,  and 
then  came  away. 

My  children  attended  the  school  the  same  as  before. 
And  the  first  notice  we  had  of  the  change  in  the  school  was 
when  they  were  ejected  by  the  teacher.  That  was  on  the  26th 
April  of  this  year.  They  went  to  school  as  usual  in  the  morn- 
ing. The  teacher  announced  that  all  children  whose  parents 
did  not  support  the  separate  school  were  required  to  leave  the. 
school  by  the  trustees.  He  then  stepped  forward  and  told  my 
children  that  the  announcement  was  meant  for  them,  and 
that  they  had  better  return  home.  Burning  with  shame  at 
thus  being  singled  out,  they  came  away. 


436  APPENDIX. 

ANOTHER  TESTIMONY. 

At  the  risk  of  laying  myself  open  to  the  charge  of  being  con- 
sidered somewhat  prolix,  I  venture  to  quote  the  statement  of  an- 
other resident  of  the  district,  the  better  to  give  an  insight  into 
the  case,  and  to  convince  my  readers  of  the  injustice  suffered  by 
the  public  school  supporters.  The  man  I  quote  from  this 
time  is  Mr.  Mertin,  a  Catholic  French-Canadian;  but  he  had 
enough  courage  to  resist  the  will  of  the  priest;  and  for  his 
independence,  his  two  children,  a  boy  and  a  girl,  suffered  the 
same  indignity  as  that  put  upon  the  Presley  children.  He 
says: 

I  had  two  children  attending  school,  and  without  the 
least  notice  having  been  given  me,  they  were  dismissed  from 
the  school.  1  heard  nothing  about  the  sale  of  the  school, 
when  it  took  place;  although  i  consider  I  had  every  right  to 
know,  since  my  money  helped  to  build  the  school,  and  I  have 
also  contributed  by  my  rates  towards  its  support. 

Nothing  would  induce  me  to  send  my  children  back. 
And  let  me  say  this:  I  do  not  keep  them  from  the  school 
through  any  feeling  of  pettishness;  but  because  my  principles 
will  not  allow  me  to  send  them  to  a  separate  school. 

Well  done,  Mertin!  Were  all  your  compatriots  consti- 
tuted like  you  no  separate  school  would  exist  in  broad  Can- 
ada ;  the  hierarchy  should  attend  to  their  own  functions  and 
leave  the  laity  to  manage  the  education  of  their  children. 

But  Mertin's  courage  availed  little  in  Curran;  and  no 
more  did  the  protests  made  by  other  Catholics  against  the 
transference  that  had  taken  place.  The  priest  had  determined 
that  the  school  should  become  a  separate  one,  and  he  carried 
his  point. 

It  must  not  be  thought  that  the  public  school  supporters 
were  satisfied  to  submit  to  the  injustice  done  them  without 
first  trying  to  remove  it  by  every  available  means.  They  ap- 
pealed to  the  courts  of  the  land;  and  the  case  came  up  for 
hearing  on  Friday,  the  7th  of  April,  1905.  Some  of  the  evi- 
dence given  by  the  separate  school  supporters  is  of  a  most 


THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL.  43^ 

curious  character  and  reveals  the  method  adopted  by  the  priest 
to  destroy  the  public  school. 

CONSPIRACY  EXPOSED. 

Napoleon  Chatelain,  a  French-Canadian  and  chairman  of 
the  public  school  board,  a  man  who  had  been  at  one  time  a 
strong  supporter  of  the  public  school,  but  had  been  won  over  by 
the  priest,  and  had  planned  with  some  others  to  bring  about 
the  transference  of  the  school,  honestly  acknowledged,  when 
examined,  that  the  priest  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  whole 
matter.  I  quote  from  the  proceedings: 

"The  whole  object  which  you  had  in  view  was  to  get 
control  of  the  brick  building  and  go  over  to  the  separate 
school  ?"  asked  the  counsel  for  the  public  school  supporters. 

"Yes,"  answered  Chatelain. 

"It  was  openly  done;  there  was  no  doubt  as  to  your 
intentions  ?" 

"No ;  we  intended  to  become  separate  school  supporters.'' 

"The  priest  and  inspector  (the  separate  school  function- 
ary) told  you  how  to  plan  this  change?" 

"Yes." 

Was  ever  more  damning  evidence  offered  of  the  con- 
spiracy of  a  priest  against  the  public  weal?  It  is  almost  in- 
conceivable that  any  man  with  the  least  degree  of  self-respect 
would  condescend  so  low  as  to  instigate  so  base  an  attack  on 
a  public  institution. 

But  let  us  hear  also  what  C.  A.  Charlebois,  secretary- 
treasurer  of  the  old  public  board,  and  a  confrere  of  Chatelain, 
has  to  say: 

"You  made  an  attempt  before  to  get  the  public  school?" 
questioned  the  counsel. 

"Yes." 

"What  happened?" 

"We  were  blocked." 

"You  never  gave  up  the  idea  of  getting  the  school  ?" 

"Never." 

"The  public  school  trustees  arranged  this  deal  for  the 
benefit  of  the  separate  board?" 

"I  suppose  so." 


APPENDIX. 

I  remember  reading  of  a  criminal  who,  when  confronted 
with  evidence  of  his  guilt,  not  only  did  not  deny  the  accusa- 
tion, but  also  gloried  in  the  deed  he  had  done.  Charlebois 
had  no  shame  for  the  part  he  had  played.  Though  secretary- 
treasurer  of  the  public  school  board,  he  had  coolly  and  de- 
liberately planned  its  betrayal.  Chatelain  was  with  him  up 
to  the  hilt ;  and  the  priest  was  behind  it  all.  Place  these  men 
in  other  conditions,  say  in  Europe  a  couple  of  centuries  ago, 
and  would  the  lives,  far  less  the  property,  of  their  fellow- 
citizens  have  been  safe  at  their  hands?  Their  spirit  is  that 
of  Machiavelli;  according  to  them  the  end  justified  the  means 
whatever  the  means  might  be. 

A  WEAK  JUDGE. 

Notwithstanding  the  evidence  given,  the  law  did  not  in- 
terpose to  restore  the  school  to  the  public  school  supporters. 
The  judge,  a  man  of  weak  spirit,  a  tactician  and  a  politician, 
was  afraid  to  give  a  decision.  He  might  offend  the  govern- 
ment through  the  offence  he  would  give  the  hierarchy  were 
he  to  decide  in  favour  of  the  public  school  supporters.  He, 
therefore,  proposed  a  compromise.  The  public  school  sup- 
porters, feeling  themselves  helpless,  consented  on  the  under- 
standing that  they  should  receive  some  compensation  for  the 
injustice  they  had  suffered.  The  judge's  suggestion  was  car- 
ried out,  and  the  public  school  supporters  were  awarded  $350 
and  the  possession  of  an  old  log  school  house,  the  priest  and 
his  faction  retaining  the  original  public  school  building. 

Are  we,  it  may  be  well  asked,  reverting  to  the  middle 
ages  when  the  democracy  were  regarded  as  so  many  cattle  to 
be  driven  about  as  the  hierarchy  chose?  Is  all  sense  of  right 
and  liberty  dead  within  the  breasts  of  the  Canadian  people? 
Is  the  soil  of  Canada  to  be  the  scene  of  a  despotism  as  harsh 
and  far-reaching  as  any  recorded  in  the  annals  of  the  Old 
World? 

The  Curran  case,  I  suppose,  will  be  relegated  by  the  poli- 
ticians of  Canada  to  the  limbo  of  forgetfulness.  These  seekers 


THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL.  439 

of  the  people's  suffrages  do  not  like  to  be  reminded  of  aught 
that  may  cost  them  votes.  They  are  quite  willing  that  the 
people  should  be  tyrannised  over,  so  long  as  they  are  returned 
to  parliament.  They  do  not  care  how  votes  are  won  for 
them;  the  main  thing  is  that  they  should  be  victors  at  the 
polls.  If  they  have  the  support  of  the  hierarchy,  then  so 
much  the  better  for  them,  since  they  are  the  more  likely  to 
be  assured  of  their  seat  in  parliament. 

It  may  be,  however,  that  the  tyranny  of  the  hierarchy  will 
become  so  obtrusive  that  the  politicians  of  the  country  will 
not  be  able  to  shut  their  eyes  to  it,  but  be  forced  to  deal  with 
it.  For  though  the  people  are  longsuffering,  they  will  not 
always  endure  the  assaults  made  upon  their  individual  rights. 

THE  DOWNEYVILLE  CASE. 

At  Downeyville,  Victoria  County,  Ontario,  Canada,  oc- 
curred an  attack  on  the  public  school,  during  the  closing 
months  of  1904,  that  aroused  much  public  indignation  at  the 
time  which  will  not  quickly  pass  awray. 

Like  Curran,  the  district  of  Downeyville  is  entirely  rural, 
completely  shut  out  from  the  world.  It  was  settled  about 
fifty  years  ago  by  immigrants  from  Ireland,  who  were  prin- 
cipally of  the  Catholic  faith.  Taken  altogether,  among  them 
there  would  not  be  more  than  half  a  dozen  Protestant  families. 

When  the  school  came  to  be  built  the  question  of  religion 
did  not  arise.  It  was  erected  as  a  public  institution  and  as 
such  it  continued  during  a  period  of  nearly  fifty  years,  or  until 
October  of  1904. 

Within  that  space  the  population  of  the  community  had 
not  experienced  much  change.  Some  of  the  original  settlers 
had  died,  but  their  sons  had  taken  their  places.  Two  or  three 
of  the  Protestant  families  had  moved  from  the  locality,  but 
the  non-Catholic  element  had  not  diminished  in  numbers, 
the  vacancies  being  filled  by  persons  of  similar  religious  lean- 
ings. There  had  been  a  slight  loss  to  the  Catholic  section, 
which  accounted  for  the  non-Catholic  element  maintaining  its 


440  APPENDIX. 

strength.  A  farmer,  Patrick  Meehan,  had  embraced  the  prin- 
ciples of  Christian  Science,  which  placed  him  outside  the  pale 
of  the  Catholic  Church.  Such  a  circumstance  means  nothing 
m  a  large  community.  The  people  of  a  town  or  city  have  so 
many  interests  to  occupy  their  attention,  that  the  affairs  of 
their  neighbours  generally  concern  them  but  little,  if  at  all; 
but  in  a  rural  district,  where  the  population  is  small,  and 
events  are  few,  the  fact  of  a  man  changing  his  religion 
creates  a  sensation  that  remains  for  months. 

The  village  had  added  nothing  to  its  size.  Shortly  after 
the  district  had  been  settled,  a  store  and  a  few  houses  went 
up,  as  well  as  a  church,  a  presbytery  and  a  school  building. 
And  these  comprise  the  whole  village  to-day,  the  only  dif- 
ference being  that  the  original  church,  presbytery  and  school 
building  have  been  replaced  by  more  modern  structures. 

The  church  and  presbytery  to  be  seen  in  the  village  to- 
day are  splendid  edifices,  and  present  a  striking  contrast  to  the 
other  buildings  of  the  locality.  Most  of  the  farmers  of  the  dis- 
trict (and  they  are  a  hardworking  class  of  people)  are  content, 
or  rather,  such  are  their  circumstances,  are  forced  to  content 
themselves,  with  frame  or  log  houses;  whereas  the  church 
and  presbytery  are  of  brick  and  must  have  cost  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  $20,000  to  erect. 

The  school,  though  not  by  any  means  as  pretentious  as 
the  church  and  presbytery,  is  a  solid  brick  building  of  a  fair 
size  for  so  small  a  community.  It  will  accommodate  sixty 
children,  and  its  cost  was  about  $2,000. 

It  remains  to  be  told  that  though  the  school  was  a  pub- 
lic institution,  instruction  was  given  within  it  in  the  Catholic 
catechism  and  the  sacraments  of  the  Church.  This,  of  course, 
took  place  out  of  school  hours,  as  required  by  law.  Also  the 
Saints'  days  were  observed. 


THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL.  44! 

A  CANADIAN  WINTER  EXPERIENCE. 

My  visit  of  investigation  to  Downeyville  opened  my  eyes 
to  a  condition  of  things  that  I  had  not  even  dreamt  possible 
on  this  continent  in  the  present  century. 

It  was  a  wild,  stormy  day  in  Winter  that  saw  me  on  my 
way  to  this  place.  A  strong  nor'-easter  was  blowing,  driving 
the  snow  before  it,  numbing  the  body  and  blocking  the  roads. 
I  had  to  travel  twelve  miles  by  sleigh,  the  distance  between 
my  objective  and  Lindsay,  where  was  situated  the  nearest 
railway  station. 

It  was  noon  when  I  set  out.  The  roads  were  heavy  with 
snow,  great  banks  lying  across  them,  rendering  progress  a 
matter  of  extreme  difficulty.  Once  the  outskirts  of  Lindsay 
were  reached,  I  turned  the  horse's  head  right  in  the  teeth 
of  the  wind,  and  then  began  an  experience,  the  like  to  which 
I  have  never  had  before.  I  had  often  heard  of  the  rigours  of 
a  Canadian  winter,  but  not  until  that  day,  had  I  any  idea  of 
what  the  words  meant.  Overhead,  the  sky  was  dark,  murky 
with  cloud,  while  the  blast,  which  had  reached  the  strength 
of  a  hurricane,  came  sweeping  over  the  frozen  snow  with  its 
burden  of  snowflakes,  and  whistled  shrilly  as  if  in  mockery. 

Before  I  had  gone  a  mile,  I  was  chilled  to  the  bone.  I 
turned  my  back  partially  to  the  wind,  but  that  served  me  noth- 
ing. Even  the  horse  sought  to  evade  the  force  of  the  terrible 
blast.  More  than  once  it  made  as  though  it  would  turn,  and 
it  cost  me  some  pains  to  keep  it  going  forward.  Finally,  the 
cold  becoming  so  intense  that  I  could  no  longer  expose  my 
skin  to  the  wind  and  hope  to  escape  being  frostbitten,  I  buried 
my  head  in  a  scots  plaid  I  had  with  me,  and  giving  a  tug  now 
and  again  to  the  reins  to  make  the  horse  aware  that  I  was  on 
the  watch,  I  thus  went  forward,  leaving  to  the  discretion  of 
the  horse  the  task  of  overcoming  any  obstacles  that  might 
be  met  with  on  the  road. 

The  miles  were  slow  in  passing  by,  but  when  the  end  of 
my  journey  was  reached,  I  was  well  repaid  for  any  discom- 


442  APPENDIX. 

fort  I  had  endured.  I  found  the  Downeyville  people  warm- 
hearted, and  in  the  welcome  I  received  my  cold  and  weari- 
ness were  forgotten. 

I  made  careful  inquiry  into  the  facts  of  the  case,  and 
the  following  is  the  result : 

In  November,  1904,  the  local  priest,  Father  Bretherton, 
read  from  the  altar  a  letter  from  the  Bishop  of  Peterborough, 
his  ecclesiastical  superior,  the  contents  of  which  were  to  the 
effect,  that  a  separate  school  should  be  established  in  the  dis- 
trict. The  letter  was  in  the  form  of  a  command.  The  people 
had  not  been  consulted  as  to  the  need  of  a  separate  school 
being  formed ;  and  to  ensure  their  obedience,  the  letter  warned 
the  listeners  of  the  severest  church  penalties  being  imposed 
upon  any  who  resisted  the  Bishop's  instructions. 

It  must  not  be  thought  that  the  people  were  willing  to 
submit  tamely  to  the  Bishop's  desire.  Some  lacked  the  ne^es- 
sary  courage  to  take  an  independent  stand,  but  a  fair  propor- 
tion of  the  district,  some  thirty  residents,  refused  obedience. 
They  said  nothing  when  the  letter  was  read,  but  their  actions 
told  better  than  words,  their  feeling  in  the  matter. 

SECRET  MACHINATIONS. 

Immediately  after  the  Sunday  on  which  the  letter  was 
read,  the  priest  set  to  work  to  have  the  instructions  it  con- 
tained observed.  He  got  secretly  together  a  few  sycophants 
who  were  at  all  times  ready  to  do  his  bidding,  whatever  it 
might  be,  and  arranged  with  them  that  a  meeting  be  con- 
vened to  elect  separate  school  trustees.  This  he  did,  although 
he  was  a  public  school  trustee  himself.  He  did  not  seem  to 
understand  that  in  so  acting,  he  was  playing  a  traitor's  part. 
Although  pledged  by  his  office,  to  protect  the  rights  of  the 
public  school,  he  was  doing  everything  in  his  power  to  break 
that  establishment.  But,  have  patience  a  moment,  and  you 
will  learn  that  he  was  ready,  nay  eager,  to  sacrifice  every  right 
appertaining  to  the  public  school  in  his  aim  to  plant  a  sepa- 
rate school  in  the  community, 


THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL.  443 

On  the  lapse  of  the  requisite  statutory  time,  the  meeting 
assembled,  and  five  trustees  were  elected.  It  was  attended 
by  several  Catholics  who  were  opposed  to  the  proposed  sepa- 
rate school,  but  were  curious  to  learn  how  the  meeting  should 
proceed.  These  were  requested  by  the  priest  to  sign  a  peti- 
tion in  -favour  of  a  separate  school,  but  none  complied.  It 
is  worth  recording  the  scene  that  occurred  between  the  priest 
and  an  old  man,  one  of  the  original  settlers  of  the  district, 
when  the  latter  was  asked  to  put  his  name  to  the  document. 

A  BULLDOZING  PRIEST. 

"Come  over  here  and  sign,"  said  the  priest  in  an  over- 
bearing tone.  "I'll  sign  no  such  paper,"  answered  the  man. 
"You'll  not  get  the  sacraments  if  you  don't,"  said  the  priest, 
thinking  to  terrify  the  man  into  submission.  But  the  man 
was  not  to  be  terrified.  "Keep  your  sacraments,"  he  exclaimed, 
and  went  out  of  the  place. 

THE  SCHOOL  Is  TRANSFERRED. 

The  others,  who  were  opposed  to  the  separate  school 
were  men  of  the  same  temper  as  this  veteran,  and  were  neither 
to  be  cajoled  nor  threatened  into  complying  with  the  priest's 
demands.  Father  Bretherton  was,  however,  determined  to 
have  his  way.  Laying  aside  all  scruples,  he  planned  to  trans- 
fer the  public  school  to  the  "separate  school  trustees.  This 
was  his  crowning  faithfulness,  and  he  did  it  deliberately, 
glorying  in  it  as  a  thing  to  be  proud  of. 

On  his  initiative,  the  public  and  separate  school  trustees 
met.  The  former  were  men  of  Father  Bretherton's  type, 
utterly  without  public  spirit;  and  at  this  meeting,  which 
Father  Bretherton  attended  in  his  capacity  as  a  public  school 
trustee,  the  school,  whose  value  is  $2,000,  was  sold  to  the 
separate  school  trustees  for  $7. 

The  sale  was  not  made  public.  Perhaps  Father  Brether- 
ton was  afraid  that  if  the  transaction  were  known,  action 
might  be  taken  against  him.  He  preferred  to  wait  until  the 


444  APPENDIX. 

annual  meeting,  held  at  the  close  of  the  year,  for  the  facts  to 
become  public.  Time  would  be  on  his  side,  and  opportunity 
would  thus  be  given  him  to  bring  the  recalcitrant  members  of 
his  church  over  to  his  way  of  thinking.  He  was,  however, 
mistaken. 

INSPECTOR  KNIGHT'S  REPORT. 

The  following,  which  is  the  official  report  of  that  meet- 
ing, drawn  up  by  Mr.  Knight,  the  public  school  inspector, 
who  was  present,  for  the  Minister  of  Education,  conveys  an 
idea  of  the  temper  of  the  opponents  of  the  separate  school : 

I  beg  to  report  that  I  attended  the  annual  meeting  at 
Downeyville,  School  Section  Number  4,  Emily,  on  Wednes- 
day, December  28.  The  adoption  of  the  trustees'  report  was 
moved  just  after  my  arrival.  After  this,  the  priest,  Rev. 
Father  Bretherton,  said  this  was  a  separate  school  meeting 
and  only  supporters  of  the  separate  school  could  vote.  Then 
an  auditor  and  trustee  were  elected.  In  answer  to  questions 
by  ratepayers,  the  priest  said  the  separate  school  owned  the 
property.  The  trustees  of  the  public  never  had  a  deed  of  the 
land,  but  the  trustees  of  the  separate  school  had  got  a  deed. 
Also  that  no  notice  of  a  meeting  of  supporters  of  the  public 
school  had  been  given,  because  the  public  school  had  ceased 
to  exist. 

The  notice  calling  a  meeting  of  the  separate  school  was 
then  read.  This  was  received  with  surprise  by  many  present. 

When  it  was  proposed  to  hold  a  meeting  after  adjourn- 
ment, for  the  election  of  public  school  trustees,  the  priest 
said  they  had  no  right  to  do  so.  When  my  opinion  was  asked, 
I  said  that  such  a  meeting  would  be  legal,  as,  though  notices 
had  not  been  given,  the  ratepayers  had  come  for  that  pur- 
pose. The  meeting  was  then  held  and  trustees  for  one,  two 
and  three  years,  respectively,  were  elected,  the  three  trustees 
having  retired  from  the  public  school  board.  An  auditor  was 
also  appointed. 

As  one  of  the  trustees  appointed  was  not  present,  I  ad- 
vised the  other  two  to  call  a  meeting  forthwith,  appoint  a 
secretary  and  instruct  him  to  demand  the  books  from  the  late 
secretary.  About  thirty-three  persons  were  present,  of  whom 
three  appeared  to  act  with  the  priest  and  the  rest  against 
him. 


THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL.  445 

Inspector  Knight's  report  tells  the  whole  tale  of  the  con- 
temptible conduct  of  the  priest;  of  his  chicanery  in  regard 
to  the  sale  of  the  school,  and  of  his  purpose  to  override,  if 
he  could,  all  public  rights. 

PRIEST  APPLIES  THE  CLOSURE. 

Having  failed  to  sway  his  people  to  approve  what  he 
had  done,  the  priest  then  tried  the  method  of  shutting  off  all 
discussion  on  the  subject.  It  was  a  separate  school  meeting 
and  the  public  school  ratepayers  had  no  right  to  say  a*  single 
word  as  regards  the  manner  in  which  their  rights  had  been 
infringed.  They  should  submit  themselves  without  question 
to  flie  instructions  of  the  priest.  The  very  liberty  of  free 
speech  was  denied  them. 

INTERVIEW  WITH  FATHER  BRETHERTON. 

The  character  of  the  cleric  who  assumed  this  attitude 
may  be  learned  from  an  interview  with  him,  that  appeared  in 
the  Toronto  Telegram,  dated  January  6th,  1905.  His  very 
words  condemn  him  as  a  man,  utterly  without  regard  for  the 
interests  of  his  people  or  the  rights  of  justice.  He  says: 

I  advised  my  bishop,  and,  on  the  i6th  November,  he 
wrote  me  a  letter  to  be  read  to  my  congregation,  saying  that 
he  considered  the  time  was  opportune  to  establish  a  Catholic 
separate  school.  By  the  letter,  also,  I  was  instructed  to  ex- 
plain to  the  people  the  advantages  of  such  a  school.  That 
was  my  authority  and  upon  it  I  acted. 

The  proceedings  we  took  were  all  legal.  We  had  an 
informal  meeting  first  to  discuss  the  question,  and  then  five 
ratepayers  convened  a  meeting  which  was  held  early  in  De- 
cember to  elect  separate  school  trustees.  \ 

,We  had  a  school  here.  It  was  practically  a  Catholic 
one.  At  any  rate,  it  was  conducted  on  Catholic  lines.  The 
religion  taught  in  it  was  tolerated,  and  we  did  not  see,  con- 
sidering all  things,  why  it  should  not  be  transferred  to  the 
separate  school  board.  After  negotiations  between  the  public 
and  separate  school  trustees,  the  transference  took  place. 

The  reader  will  observe  that  there  is  not  a  word  so  far 


446  APPENDIX. 

about  the  priest  having  consulted  the  people  of  the  district. 
It  was  no  part  of  his  policy  to  do  such  a  thing.  He  knew 
well  the  public  voice  would  be  in  antagonism  to  his  proposal. 

The  reporter  who  interviewed  Father  Bretherton  ob- 
served the  omission;  for  we  have  him  ask:  "Did  you  notify 
the  public  school  ratepayer  s  of  your  intentions  ?" 

The  reply  given  was  in  the  negative,  the  priest  also  later 
explaining  that  the  reason  why  he  did  not,  as  a  member  of 
the  public  school  board,  summon  the  usual  annual  meeting 
in  December,  was  because  the  public  school  board,  on  the 
sale  of  the  school,  had  ceased  to  exist. 

The  conclusion  of  the  interview  is  most  significant.  I 
give  it  verbatim: 

Q.  Have  you  threatened  the  objectors  with  a  depriva- 
tion of  Church  privileges  ? 

A.  Not  publicly.  But  my  bishop  has  given  me  authority 
to  do  so.  If  they  don't  pay  their  school  taxes,  I  have  the 
power  to  withhold  the  sacraments  from  them.  So  far  I 
have  not  put  this  into  force. 

We  have  seen  what  the  priest  said  to  one  of  the  rate- 
payers to  induce  him  to  sign  a  petition  in  favour  of  the  estab- 
lishing of  a  separate  school.  That  was  said  in  public,  and  at 
a  date  prior  to  the  interview  just  quoted. 

Nor  was  that  man  the  only  person  he  sought  to  influence 
by  threats.  Both  in  church  and  during  personal  interviews 
with  members  of  his  flock,  he  held  up  as  the  penalty  of  oppo- 
sition, the  full  terrors  of  the  Church. 

THE  FIGHT  GOES  ON. 

But  the  fight  went  on.  The  independent  spirits  of  the 
district,  both  Catholics  and  non-Catholics,  combined  together 
on  the  common  ground  of  the  public  good,  and  took  legal 
action  to  resist  the  encroachments  of  the  priest  on  the  public 
school. 

A  SENSATIONAL  SCENE  IN  CHURCH. 

Meanwhile,  the  school,  which  had  been  closed  during  the 
Christmas  recess,  opened  under  the  auspices  of  the  separate 


THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL.  447 

school  trustees.  The  announcement  of  its  opening  was  made 
in  church  during  service,  and  occasioned  a  scene  that  stands 
unparalleled  in  the  histoVy  of  the  district.  Downeyville  people 
are,  if  anything,  decorus  in  their  general  conduct,  and  have  a 
profound  reverence  for  the  Church  and  all  relating  to  it. 
The  Irish  hlood,  that  flows  in  their  veins,  has  given  them  a 
veneration  for  religion,  that  makes  them  regard  the  services 
of  the  Church  with  a  species  of  awe.  They  would  be  the 
last  in  the  world,  then,  to  be  guilty  of  any  breach  of  decorum 
in  church;  and  it  could  only  be  injustice  of  the  gravest  char- 
acter that  would  make  them  break  away  from  their  customary 
manner  of  carrying  themselves  during  worship. 

This  was  what  they  felt  they  were  labouring  under  when 
the  priest  announced  the  opening  of  the  school.  And  all 
precedents  were  cast  to  the  winds.  Hardly  had  the  words 
left  the  priest's  lips,  when  a  man  in  the  body  of  the  church 
rose  to  his  feet.  Necks  were  craned  forward  in  his  direction 
to  learn  his  intention.  The  people  were  not  long  kept  in  doubt. 
In  a  strong,  clear  voice  he  said:  "The  public  school  will 
open  on  Monday."  There  was  a  rustle  of  approval  through- 
out the  congregation.  Several  others  rose  to  their  feet  to  join 
their  protest  to  that  of  the  man  who  had  spoken.  The  priest 
was  taken  aback,  and  stood  for  a  moment  appalled  by  the 
storm  he  had  excited.  One  way  of  escape  lay  open  to  him, 
and  he  seized  upon  it.  He  pronounced  a  benediction,  and  the 
people  bent  in  reverence.  The  priest  then  left  the  church. 
The  worshipers  slowly  dispersed,  venting  loudly  their  indigna- 
tion at  the  announcement  that  had  been  made. 

AN  IN  JUNCTION^  SERVED. 

But  the  priest  was  right.  The  school  did  open  on  the 
following  day  under  the  auspices  of  the  separate  board.  His 
triumph,  however,  was  shortlived.  The  supporters  of  the 
public  school  had  bestirred  themselves,  and  obtained  an  in- 
junction against  the  separate  board  using  the  school  building 
while  the  case  was  before  the  courts.  The  result  was  the 


448  APPENDIX. 

closing  of  the  school,  the  children  of  those  who  had  yielded 
to  the  threats  of  the  priest  being  taken  into  the  vestry  of  the 
church  for  instructions. 

The  public '  school  trustees,  for  their  part,  found  them- 
selves in  somewhat  of  a  quandary.  They  had  the  school  in 
their  possession ;  but  there  was  no  teacher  available  to  instruct 
the  pupils.  The  former  teacher  was  too  timid  to  resist  the 
bishop's  mandate.  The  trustees  could  not,  for  lack  of  funds 
—  remember  they  were  fanners,  not  too  well  blessed  with  the 
world's  goods  —  employ  a  teacher  from  outside  the  district. 
They  could,  therefore,  make  no  use  of  the  school;  and  the 
children  of  their  faction,  perforce,  remained  at  home. 

The  priest  still  believed  that  he  could  break  down  the 
opposition  of  the  public  school  supporters.  He  never  imagined 
that  the  action  which  they  had  raised  would  ever  come  to  a 
trial.  His  belief  was  that  he  would  still  be  able  to  enforce 
obedience  among  his  flock.  When  the  case,  however,  was 
called,  he  was  undeceived ;  and  he  decided  upon  a  course  that 
he  considered,  would  compel  the  submission  of  the  recalci- 
trants. 

BISHOP  COMPELS  SUBMISSION. 

He  asked  for  an  adjournment  of  the  case,  and  called  in 
the  aid  of  his  bishop.  On  a  certain  Sunday  that  dignitary 
appeared  in  Downeyville  church.  It  was  a  bright,  clear  day, 
and  the  edifice  was  filled  to  overflowing.  During  the  service 
the  bishop  dealt  at  considerable  length  with  the  question  of 
the  school  The  circumstances  of  the  case  were  gone  over 
in  detail,  the  blame  for  the  trouble,  that  had  arisen,  being 
wholly  laid  on  the  shoulders  of  those  who  had  opposed  his 
mandate.  Their  duty,  the  bishop  declared,  was  to  support 
the  separate  school,  and  they  could  be  certain,  that  whoever 
failed  to  do  so  thereafter,  would  be  banned  by  the  Church. 

By  the  bishop's  instructions,  the  right  of  the  public  school 
trustees  to  the  school  building  was  acknowledged.  This,  of 
course,  implied  the  dropping  of  the  action  for  the  possession 
of  the  edifice.  In  this  regard  the  public  school  supporters 


THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL.  449 

had  gained  a  victory ;  but  it  was  a  barren  one,  for  all  opposi- 
tion, on  the  part  of  the  Catholic  laity  ceased.  They  might  be 
strong  enough  to  resist  the  tyranny  of  a  priest;  but  it  was 
beyond  them  to  refuse  obedience  to  a  bishop. 

The  expenses  of  the  action,  both  those  of  plaintiffs  as 
well  as  cf  defendants,  were,  it  was  arranged,  to  be  met  by  a 
picnic  to  be  held  during  the  summer.  All  difficulty,  as  re- 
gards the  members  of  the  Catholic  Church,  was  now  at  an 
end.  The  priest  had  gained  his  point,  as  far  as  concerned 
"the  breaking  of  the  public  school."  For  the  remaining  pub- 
lic school  supporters  were  too  few  in  number  to  hope  to 
maintain  a  school  for  their  children.  The  school,  therefore, 
remains  closed.  It  is  no  longer  in  the  possession  of  the  priest, 
but  it  is  of  no  use  to  the  public  school  supporters.  The  sepa- 
rate school  is  still  held  in  the  vestry  of  the  church;  but  it 
is  only  a  matter  of  time  until  the  children  attending  it  are 
back  again  in  their  old  seats.  For  the  priest  will  yet  have 
the  school  building  under  his  control.  The  law  allows  the 
public  school  supporters  of  a  district  to  sell  their  school,  if 
they  choose  to  do  so.  And  what  is  more  likely  than  to  find 
the  few  public  school  supporters  of  Downeyville  district  will- 
ing to  part  with  a  building,  for  a  modest  sum,  that  is  of  no 
service  to  them?  As  it  stands,  it  is  merely  a  burden  of  ex- 
pense. It  yields  nothing,  and  costs  money  to  keep  it  in  a 
state  of  repair.  Whereas,  a  sum  of  money,  though  ever  so 
small,  would  at  least  be  of  service. 

Thus  has  Downeyville  school  passed  under  the  control 
of  the  hierarchy.  By  the  mandate  of  a  bishop  a  peaceful 
community  has  been  split  up  into  factions,  the  rights  of  the 
people  have  been  trampled  upon  and  a  blow  dealt  the  public 
school  system,  which  will  be  felt  throughout  its  whole  rami- 
fications. It  must  not  be  thought  that  the  hierarchy  will 
be  content  to  end  with  the  capture  of  the  schools  they  have 
already  won  from  the  public  school  system.  The  hierarchy 
are  only  commencing  their  encroachments;  and  their  success 
will  make  them  bolder  in  attack  and  more  arrogant  in  their 


45O  APPENDIX. 

demands.  Unless  strong  measures  are  taken  to  check  them, 
there  will  cease  to  be  a  public  school  system  in  the  province 
—  a  calamity  so  baneful  in  its  effects  that  no  means  should  be 
left  untried  to  avert  it. 

A  REMEDY  NEEDED. 

The  reader  who  is  unacquainted  with  the  law  and  with 
the  political  conditions  of  the  province  of  Ontario  may  won- 
der that  the  education  department  provides  no  protection  to 
the  public  school  against  the  malevolent  attacks  of  the  hier- 
archy. There  is  a  two-fold  reason  for  the  department  refrain- 
ing from  interference.  First,  the  law  gives  the  department  no 
power  to  interfere.  It  will  be  remembered  that  in  the  cases 
cited,  the  encroachments  of  the  hierarchy  were  opposed,  in 
each  instance,  by  the  local  public  school  trustees.  This  is 
according  to  the  law  of'  the  province.  The  ratepayers  of  each 
school  section  are  a  unit,  as  far  as  the  maintenance  of  the 
school  is  concerned,  without  any  connection  with  the  other 
public  school  sections  of  the  country.  They  are  compelled 
to  provide  a  school  by  law ;  and  the  school  must  conform 
to  certain  requirements  to  be  recognized  by  the  department, 
while  the  instruction  given  within  it  must  come  up  to  the 
standard  set  by  the  provincial  code.  But,  as  for  affording  the 
slightest  protection  to  individual  public  schools,  such  a  matter 
is  beyond  the  functions  of  the  department. 

PUBLIC  MEN  INDIFFERENT. 

Second,  the  two  political  parties  of  the  province  are  too 
anxious  to  secure  the  Catholic  vote  to  dream  of  legislating 
for  the  protection  of  the  public  school.  The  reader  will  re- 
member the  fate  of  the  petitions  to  the  legislature  and  the 
Lieutenant-Governor  by  the  public  school  ratepayers  of  Stur- 
geon Falls.  Politics  in  Ontario  has  become  a  business.  The 
public  men  of  the  province  have  descended  to  the  level  of 
mere  politicians,  thus  reversing  the  meaning  of  Macaulay's 
famous  words:  "None  were  for  party  and  all  were  for  the 


THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL.  451 

State."  They  regard  their  party  as  a  means  to  their  own 
personal  aggrandisement;  and  hence  they  aim  to  strengthen 
their  party,  whatever  the  cost  to  the  public  weal.  Let  any 
bishop  in  the  province  but  lift  his  little  ringer,  and  there  is 
not  a  politician  in  the  country  who  will  not  fly  to  his  side  to 
show  willingness  to  do  his  bidding.  It  may  be  thought  an 
exaggeration,  but  it  is,  alas!  only  too  true,  that  the  law  can 
be  set  aside  if  the  hierarchy  so  desire. 

THE  FAMOUS  CHRISTIAN  BROTHERS  CASE. 

This  was  made  manifest  in  1904  in  connection  with  the 
attempt  on  the  part  of  the  hierarchy  to  compel  the  recogni- 
tion of  the  Christian  Brothers,  as  teachers  within  the  bounds 
of  the  province  of  Ontario.  The  Christian  Brothers  —  a 
French  Catholic  Order,  founded  for  the  purpose  of  teach- 
ing —  are  in  great  strength  in  Quebec,  and  arrangements 
were  made  to  place  under  their  control  the  boys'  separate 
school  for  the  parish  of  Notre  Dame,  Ottawa.  I  cannot 
imagine  a  more  crafty  move  on  the  part  of  the  hierarchy  than 
this,  since  it  struck  at  the  very  foundation  of  the  educational 
system  of  Ontario. 

According  to  Ontario  law,  every  teacher  must  have  a  cer- 
tificate from  the  education  department,  stating  that  he  has 
passed  a  certain  examination.  The  purpose  of  this  is  to  pre- 
vent incompetent  teachers  being  placed  in  charge  of  the 
schools ;  and  every  reasonable  person  will  acknowledge  that 
the  regulation  is  a  necessary  safeguard  to  the  educational 
standard  of  the  province.  Ontario  prides  itself  upon  the 
quality  of  the  education  provided  its  children ;  and  rightly  so, 
since  every  effort  has  been  put  forth  to  make  it  equal  to,  if 
not  in  advance  of,  that  of  every  other  country  in  the  world. 

TEACHING  WITHOUT  CERTIFICATES. 

The  Christian  Brothers  sought  to  evade  the  regulation 
respecting  the  certificates.  They  declined  to  submit  them- 
selves to  the  requirements  of  the  education  Department,  and 


452  APPENDIX. 

proposed  to  teach  without  certificates  entitling  them  to  do  so. 
When  their  right  to  act  thus  was  questioned,  they  asserted 
that  the  law  was  with  them.  The  ground  they  took  was  a 
clause  in  the  British  North  America  Act  which  provided  that 
all  uncertificated  teachers  who  were  practising  their  profession 
prior  to  1867,  the  date  when  the  Act  came  into  force,  would 
be  permitted  to  continue  teaching  without  being  required  to 
take  out  a  certificate  from  the  education  department.  The 
purpose  of  this  clause  was  to  prevent  injury  being  done  to 
the  many  unqualified  teachers  who  were  then  throughout  the 
province.  These  had  done  good  work.  Many  of  them  were 
men  of  high  scholarly  attainments,  and  it  was  felt  that  to 
have  taken  the  bread  from  their  mouths,  without  some  such 
saving  clause,  would  have  been  a  gross  injustice  to  a  class  to 
whose  devotion  and  disinterestedness  the  province  owed  much. 

It  was  never  intended,  however,  that  the  clause  should 
permit  of  the  unqualified  teacher  being  perpetuated.  And 
that  is  what  the  contention  of  the  Christian  Brothers  amounted 
to.  Not  that  they  said  it  in  so  many  words.  The  argument 
they  put  forward  was  that  their  order  had  been  in  existence 
within  the  province  prior  to  Confederation ;  and,  therefore, 
the  clause  mentioned  covered  their  case. 

A  more  preposterous  argument  could  not  have  been  ad- 
vanced ;  or  one,  if  it  were  sustained,  more  injurious  to  the 
education  of  the  province. 

TERMS  OF  CONTRACT. 

Another  feature  of  the  arrangement  on  which  the  Chris- 
tian Brothers  were  to  take  over  the  school,  was  the  terms  of 
the  agreement  between  them  and  the  separate  school  board  of 
Ottawa,  by  whom  the  school  was  owned.  Not  to  tire  the 
reader,  I  will  mention  only  a  few  of  these  provisions  to  indi- 
cate the  nature  of  the  powers  that  were  to  be  entrusted  to  the 
Brothers. 

Section  i  of  the  agreement  provided  that  the  residence 
of  the  Christian  Brothers  was  to  be  suitable  to  the  community 


THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL.  453 

life  followed  by  the  Brothers,  and  was  to  contain  the  various 
apartments  necessary  for  a  religious  institute,  such  as  chapel 
or  oratory,  common  room  for  studies,  dormitory  with  cells, 
room  for  visiting  superior,  etc. 

Section  n  allowed  the  Brothers  to  dismiss,  at  will,  any 
pupils  that  failed  to  give  satisfaction. 

Section  12  permitted  the  Brothers  to  live  in  community, 
according  to  their  rule  and  under  the  direction  of  their 
superior. 

PURPOSE  OF   THE   CHRISTIAN   BROTHERS. 

Two  things  are  clear  from  these  provisions;  first,  that 
the  Brothers  intended  to  turn  the  school  into  a  religious  insti- 
tution, the  pupils  being  required  to  conform  to  the  regulations 
of  the  community;  and  second,  that  they  were  to  be  in  com- 
plete control  of  the  school,  the  authority  of  the  superior  of  the 
Order  being  supreme. 

Think  of  what  these  privileges  would  lead  to.  Take  the 
first.  It  would  imply  that  the  scholars  would  live  in  a 
monastic  atmosphere,  which  has  never,  in  any  country,  been 
regarded  as  conducive  to  the  development  of  youth.  We  do 
not  desire  that  our  boys  should  grow  up  without  religion. 
Far  from  it.  We  want  our  youth  to  be  actuated  by  the  high- 
est religious  principles,  so  that  they  may  become  honourable 
citizens,  obedient  to  the  laws  and  sincerely  desirous  of  the 
welfare  of  the  country;  but  we  are  far  from  eager  that  they 
should  grow  up  as  monks,  with  all  the  monastic  self-centered 
egoism  and  lack  of  public  spirit.  In  a  word,  we  want  our 
youth  to  be  fitted  to  bear  the  burden  of  the  country's  affairs ; 
not  to  be  trained  that  these  are  minor  things  —  things  to 
which  little"  or  no  interest  should  be  paid. 

The  second  privilege  would  entail  the  total  setting  aside 
of  the  authority  of  the  school  trustees  of  Ottawa.  The 
agreement  was  for  ten  years,  and  during  that  period  the 
school  would  be  entirely  outside  of  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  educational  system  of  the  province.  It  is  true  that  one 
of  the  sections  provided  that  the  Brothers  should  accept  the 


454  APPENDIX. 

books  authorised  by  the  education  department,  and  be  under 
the  direction  of  the  separate  school  board,  in  as  far  as  their 
duties  as  teachers  were  concerned.  But  that  did  not  hinder 
them  placing  before  their  scholars  any  other  books  they  might 
choose,  and  looking  solely  to  their  superior  for  direction, 
instead  of,  as  the  law  demands,  to  the  board  alone.  With  such 
a  provision  as  12,  the  jurisdiction  of  the  board  could  be  prac- 
tically set  at  naught,  and  the  Brothers  act  as  they  please. 
Certainly  the  board  might  stop  the  supplies,  if  things  were 
not  conducted  according  to  their  satisfaction ;  but  would  they 
venture  upon  such  a  proceeding?  Before  answering  that 
question  in  the  affirmative,  it  is  well  to  consider  that  behind 
the  Christian  Brothers  are  the  hierarchy,  and  should  the  board, 
which  consists  of  Catholics,  who  are  the  nominees  of  the 
hierarchy,  dream  of  an  action  of  that  nature,  they  would  have 
upon  them  the  wrath  of  the  dignitaries  of  the  Church. 

It  is  in  no  alarmist  spirit  I  say  that  had  the  agreement 
been  allowed  to  stand,  the  school  would  have  been  forever 
gone  from  the  control  of  the  board  and  from  the  supervision 
of  the  department  of  education.  And  I  rejoice  to  state  that 
such  an  eventuality  was  averted,  but  this  was  not  accomplished 
through  any  action  either  on  the  part  of  the  provincial  author- 
ities or  of  any  public  body  in  the  province. .  The  supineness 
of  nearly  all  public  bodies  as  regards  the  encroachments  of 
the  hierarchy  is  past  speaking.  If  opposition  to  the  hier- 
archy's machinations  against  the  public  school  depended  upon 
them,  none  would  ever  be  made. 

The  boards  of  trustees  of  the  Catholic  separate  schools 
are  not,  as  a  rule,  elected  by  ballot.  Pastors  and  their  bishops 
usually  select  and  nominate  the  trustees.  The  peo'ple  virtually 
have  no  voice  in  their  choice.  The  names  are  presented  to 
the  Catholic  laity,  who  are  virtually  commanded  to  elect  the 
nominees,  who  very  often  are  the  mere  puppets  of  the  hier- 
archy. Sometimes  Catholic  laymen  demand  that  the  voting 
shall  be  by  ballot,  but  such  demands  are  invariably  frowned 
down  by  the  pastors,  who  publicly  state  that  they  are  reflec- 


THE  SEPARATE  OR   PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL.  455 

tions  upon  themselves  and  their  bishops,  and  attacks  upon 
ecclesiastical  authority. 

In  Canada  there  is  a  condition  of  affairs  similar  to  that 
which  prevails  in  the  United  States  in  these  respects:  the 
Vatican  is  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  separate  schools; 
archbishops  and  bishops  are  the  superintendents  of  the  sep- 
arate schools;  and  pastors  and  assistant  pastors  are  the  prin- 
cipals and  assistant  principals  of  the  separate  schools.  Gen- 
erally speaking,  Catholic  separate  schools  are  taught  by  mem- 
bers of  Religious  Orders;  and  very  many  of  these  teachers 
draw  their  salaries  and  teach  without  having  certificates.  The 
fact  of  the  matter  is  that  these  members  of  Religious  Orders, 
who  are  teaching  without  certificates,  are  not  able  to  pass  the 
required  examinations. 

MR.  J.   DAVID   GRATTON   TAKES   ACTION. 

The  action  was  taken  by  a  public  spirited  citizen  of 
Ottawa,  Mr.  J.  David  Gratton,  who,  Catholic  though  he  was, 
could  not  stand  by  and  see  so  great  an  injustice  done  without 
an  effort  to  have  it  stopped.  Acting  entirely  on  his  own 
behoof,  Mr.  Gratton  raised  an  action  in  the  High  Court  of 
Justice  against  the  Separate  School  Trustees  of  Ottawa  to 
prevent  them  employing  the  Christian  Brothers  as  teachers. 
The  result  of  the  action  turned  upon  the  reading  of  Sec.  36 
of  the  Separate  Schools  Act,  R.  S.  O.,  Ch.  294,  which  states 
'that : 

Teachers  of  a  separate  school  shall  be  subject  to  the  same 
examination  and  receive  their  certificates  of  qualification  in 
the  same  manner  as  public  school  teachers  generally ;  but  the 
persons  qualified  by  law  as  teachers,  either  in  the  province 
of  Ontario  or  at  the  time  of  the  passing  of  the  British  North 
America  Act,  1867,  in  the  province  of  Quebec,  shall  be  con- 
sidered qualified  teachers  for  the  purposes  of  this  Act. 

The  matter  was  argued  at  great  length  before  Mr.  Jus- 
tice MacMahon,  a  Catholic  and  a  judge  of  wide  repute.  No 
pains  were  spared  to  place  the  side  of  the  Christian  Brothers 


in  the  best  possible  light ;  but  all  the  efforts  made  in  this  direc- 
tion were  futile,  Mr.  Justice  MacMahon  deciding  in  favour 
of  Mr.  Gratton. 

THE  JUDGE'S  DECISION. 

The  judge's  decision  is  worth  giving.     He  said: 

Held,  that  the  latter  part  of  the  clause  was  an  addition 
made  in  1886  to  Section  30  of  R.  S.  O.  1877,  Ch.  206,  and  is 
an  enabling  enactment  solely  for  the  benefit  of  those  who  in 
1867  were  qualified  teachers  under  the  law  as  it  then  existed, 
either  in  Ontario  or  Quebec.  And  no  person,  who  after  the 
year  1867  became  qualified  as  a  teacher  in  the  province  of 
Quebec,  is  qualified  to  teach  in  Ontario  without  passing  the 
examinations  and  obtaining  the  certificate  required  by  Sec.  78 
of  the  Act.  The  contract  proposed  to  be  entered  into  is  there- 
fore invalid. 

REGULATIONS   ARE   EVADED. 

This  decision,  though  so  sweeping  in  its  character  against 
the  contention  of  the  Christian  Brothers,  did  not  by  any  means, 
daunt  them  or  the  hierarchy.  The  case  was  appealed  to  a 
higher  court.  But  meanwhile  the  hierarchy  were  determined 
that  the  Brothers  should  teach,  although  the  decision  of  the 
court  was  not  in  their  favour.  They  set  to  work  and  ulti- 
mately obtained  interim  certificates  entitling  the  Brothers  to 
teach.  The  certificates  were  given  by  T.  Rochon,  separate 
school  inspector  for  the  district  of  Ottawa. 

This  was  a  distinct  success  won  by  the  hierarchy.  The 
court  had  inhibited  the  Brothers  teaching  within  the  province, 
unless  they  conformed  to  the  regulations  of  the  education 
law ;  but  by  right  of  the  possession  of  the  interim  certificates, 
though  they  might  be  grossly  ignorant  of  the  very  rudiments 
of  education,  they  could  laugh  at  the  decision  of  the  court. 
And  at  this  the  Liberal  government,  then  in  power,  connived, 
instead  of  interposing  to  prevent  any  such  flagrant  dereliction 
of  the  education  law.  It  was  the  fear  of  losing  the  Catholic 
vote  that  restrained  them  from  interfering.  Nor  was  the 
Conservative  party  one  whit  better  in  this  regard.  Had  its 


THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL.  457 

members  been  actuated  by  any  higher  motive  than  a  sordid 
desire  for  votes,  their  voices  would  have  been  raised  against 
the  treasonable  action  of  the  administration. 

In  evidence  of  the  spirit  of  the  hierarchy  in  asserting 
the  right  of  the  Brothers  to  teach  without  conforming  to  the 
necessary  regulations,  I  may  mention  that  they  declared  the 
Brothers  to  have  every  right  to  do  so,  since  they  had  certifi- 
cates from  Jesus  Christ  and  the  Pope.  Did  they  seek,  I  won- 
der, to  insinuate  by  this  that  all  teachers  who  had  received 
certificates  from  the  government  had  been  given  their  author- 
ity by  Anti-Christ? 

APPEAL  COURT   DELIVERS  JUDGMENT. 

The  judges  of  the  province,  however,  were  not  so  amena- 
ble to  ecclesiastical  influence  as  the  politicians  had  shewn 
themselves  to  be.  And  when  the  case  came  to  be  heard  in 
the  Court  of  Appeal,  at  Toronto,  Canada,  the  result  was 
similar  to  that  when  it  was  before  the  High  Court  of  Justice. 
The  Hon.  Mr.  Moss,  Chief- Justice  of  Ontario,  a  man  with  a 
lofty  sense  of  duty,  was  the  presiding  judge  and  delivered  the 
opinion  of  the  court.  The  finding  was  clear  and  conclusive, 
leaving  no  doubt  as  to  the  wrong  position  in  which  the 
Brothers  had  placed  themselves.  The  closing  words  of  the 
finding  need  only  be  given.  They  are  as  follows: 

The  legislature  in  1886,  and  again  in  1887,  recognised 
and  perhaps  not  without  reason,  that  not  improbably  there 
were  still  surviving  some  individuals  who  were  within  the 
category  of  persons  qualified  as  teachers  under  the  law  as  it 
existed  at  the  time  of  the  passing  of  the  British  North  Amer- 
ica Act,  and  for  their  benefit,  carried  forward  the  saving 
clause.  And  where,  as  in  this  enactment,  there  is  found  in 
unambiguous  language,  a  general  declaration  as  to  the  quali- 
fication required,  any  restriction  upon  that  declaration  should 
not  be  carried  beyond  what  the  language,  construed  in  the 
ordinary  sense  of  the  words,  and  in  the  light  of  the  context, 
clearly  require. 

The  hierarchy  might  be  baffled,  but  they  were  not  beaten. 


The  law  was  proved  to  be  against  them,  but  they  still  had 
the  interim  certificates,  which  held  good  until  the  following 
year ;  and  there  was  no  saying  what  might  happen  before  these 
lapsed.  They  would  make  it  their  business  that  something 
should  happen  in  their  favour.  The  law  might,  for  instance, 
be  changed  to  suit  their  views.  And  there  is  every  reason 
to  believe  that  efforts  are  being  put  forth  in  this  direction. 
It  is  stated  authentically  that  the  hierarchy  are  busy  seeking 
to  influence  the  present  administration  of  Ontario  to  amend 
the  school  act  so  that  the  Brothers  may  be  allowed  to  teach 
without  conforming  to  the  requirements  of  the  law.  As  re- 
gards their  purpose  to  achieve  that,  there  is  no  uncertainty. 
Every  move  they  make  has  that  in  view.  Whether  they  suc- 
ceed or  not  is  another  matter;  but  if  the  future  conduct  of 
those  in  whose  hands  lies  the  government  of  the  province  is 
to  be  judged  by  the  past  acts  of  public  men,  the  hierarchy 
will  have  no  great  difficulty  in  gaining  their  point. 

A  SUMMING  UP. 

The  past  history  of  the  province  has  been  a  record  of 
steady  progress  in  the  encroachments  won  by  the  hierarchy. 
In  the  old  province  of  Upper  Canada  the  schools  were  entirely 
public  in  character;  the  hierarchy  had  no  say  in  the  affairs 
of  the  country;  liberty  was  allowed  to  all  in  religion,  but  in 
educational  matters  the  State  was  supreme.  With  Confed- 
eration, which  took  place  in  1867,  a  change  came.  No  sooner 
were  separate  schools  recognised  by  law  than  the  hierarchy 
proceeded  to  strengthen  themselves  and  increase  their  power. 
We  have  seen  the  method  they  followed  in  "breaking  the 
public  school."  We  have  seen  also  how  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  the  Christian  Brothers  they  hoped  to  strike  a 
vital  blow  at  the  educational  system  of  the  province.  Where 
will  they  cease?  What  will  satisfy  them?  At  what  are  they 
aiming?  They  will  not  cease  until  they  have  destroyed  the 
whole  public  school  system.  They  will  not  be  satisfied  until 
under  the  shadow  of  every  Catholic  church  they  have  estab- 


THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL.  459 

lished  a  separate  school.  Their  aim  is  the  control  of  the 
province  itself.  Solid  as  any  Greek  phalanx  of  ancient  days, 
while  the  people  of  other  sections  ef  religious  belief  are  split 
up  into  fragments,  they  are  enabled  to  dictate  to  the  govern- 
ment their  demands.  As  it  is,  they  are  the  masters  of  the 
province,  and  politicians,  as  well  as  the  public  at  large,  have 
no  other  resource  than  to  obey  their  will. 

LAITY  SHOULD  UNITE. 

No  other  resource,  do  I  say?  Yes,  they  have  a  thousand 
other  resources  if  they  only  realised  their  own  strength  and 
the  weakness  of  the  hierarchy  that  dominate  them.  It  will 
have  been  observed  that  in  every  case  cited,  the  hierarchy 
have  not  been  supported  in  their  tyrannical  measures  by  the 
Catholic  people.  In  three  of  the  instances  related  the  opposi- 
tion was  led  by  members  of  the  Catholic  Church.  What  does 
this  signify?  Does  it  not  tell  most  emphatically  that  the 
Catholic  people  are  weary  of  the  autocratic  rule  of  the  hier- 
archy? Does  it  not  speak  of  a  general  desire  within  the 
Catholic  Church  for  greater  freedom  for  the  laity?  Does  it 
not  prove  that  a  united  effort  of  the  people  of  the  country, 
irrespective  of  religious  beliefs,  wrould  be  attended  with 
success  ? 

And  why  should  this  not  take  place  ?  Is  there  any  reason 
for  which  they  should  hesitate?  Why  should  religion  sepa- 
rate them,  when  so  much  is  at  stake?  It  can  only  be  that  they 
do  not  understand  the  danger  in  which  their  country  stands 
from  the  present  move  to  make  the  separate  school  an  integral 
part  of  the  educational  system  of  the  country.  As  a  reminder, 
let  me  mention  but  one  thing,  namely,  that  behind  the  whole 
movement  is  the  Propaganda,  which  stands  changeless  as 
ever  in  its  determination  to  dominate  wherever  opportunity 
is  given.  No  attempt  is  made  by  the  hierarchy  to  keep  this 
secret.  So  sure  are  they  of  success  that  they  do  not  even 
think  there  is  need  to  mask  their  guns.  In  the  Toronto  Star 
of  February  4th,  1905,  appears  a  news  item  to  the  effect  that 


460  APPENDIX. 

a  Montreal  priest  had  stated  that  the  Pope  had  expressed  his 
determination  to  have  separate  schools  established  through- 
out Canada.  Does  that  not  tell  of  outside  interference? 
Does  it  not  warn  Canadians  of  their  threatened  domination 
by  the  Propaganda? 

The  towers  of  ancient  Troy  fell  because  the  inhabitants 
were  heedless  of  the  words  of  Cassandra.  They  had  ears; 
but  did  not  hear.  May  it  be  given  to  Canadians  to  have  a 
keener  understanding  of  the  auspices!  May  they  take  heed 
while  there  is  yet  time ! 

ATTEMPT  TO  CAPTURE  CANADIAN  WEST. 

Not  content  merely  with  capturing  the  public  school  of 
the  eastern  provinces,  the  hierarchy  have  determined  to  ex- 
tend their  power  throughout  the  great  west.  In  1896  they 
made  a  most  resolute  attempt  to  have  the  separate  school 
foisted  on  Manitoba  against  the  express  wish  of  that  prov- 
ince. The  history  of  the  tremendous  struggle  that  ensued 
from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  is  past  history  and  requires 
no  account  of  it  to  be  given  here.  It  is  sufficient  to  say  that 
politically,  the  struggle,  to  the  credit  of  the  Dominion  of 
Canada,  ended  in  a  complete  victory  for  the  public  school 
system. 

How  MANITOBA  STANDS. 

Something  more,  however,  requires  to  be  added,  since, 
notwithstanding  the  victory,  the  separate  school  is  to-day  a 
flourishing  institution  in  Manitoba.  The  people  of  Eastern 
Canada  flatter  themselves  that  the  gigantic  efforts  they  put 
forth  in  1896  in  favour  of  Manitoba  were  with  a  view  to 
the  nationalising  of  the  schools  of  that  province ;  but  in  doing 
so,  they  are  utterly  mistaken.  Though  the  victors  in  the 
field  of  politics,  to  the  limits  of  that  sphere  their  conquest 
was  confined.  From  the  date  of  the  first  Catholic  settle- 
ment in  Manitoba  until  1896  the  separate  school  existed ;  and 
the  political  victory  gained  in  1896  made  no  change  as  far 
as  it  was  concerned.  The  separate  school  continued  to  exist, 


THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL.  461 

and  is  now  to  be  found  wherever  the  influence  of  the  hier- 
archy reaches. 

It  is  true  that  the  separate  school  is  not  recognised  as  a 
state  school  by  the  Manitoba  government.  It  has  not  the  same 
status  in  Manitoba  as  in  Ontario  and  Quebec.  It  exists 
merely  on  sufferance  in  the  eyes  of  the  law.  But  I  think  no 
one  will  contradict  me  when  I  say  that,  even  though  this  be 
true,  it  is  as  firmly  established  in  Manitoba  as  it  is  in  Eastern 
Canada. 

For  one  thing,  it  receives  financial  aid  from  the  provincial 
government  for  its  maintenance.  It  is  a  matter  of  notoriety 
that  every  separate  school  in  Manitoba,  even  those  in  the 
most  remote  rural  parts,  are  in  receipt  of  state  moneys.  Yes, 
it  is  on  record  that  the  Manitoba  government,  on  one  occa- 
sion, provided  funds  for  the  building  of  a  separate  high  school, 
and  at  the  same  time  refused  to  build  a  much  needed  high 
school  for  public  school  supporters*.  So  that,  for  any  one  to 
boast  of  the  victory  of  1896  as  a  victory  .for  the  public  school, 
is  simply  to  expose  his  ignorance  of  the  true  situation  in 
Manitoba. 

MONSIGNOR  SBARRETTI'S  INTERFERENCE. 

Nor  is  it  improbable  that  the  separate  school  will  remain 
for  long  merely  on  sufferance  in  Manitoba.  Indications  are 
not  lacking  to  those  who  care  to  read,  that  the  day  is  not  far 
distant  when  a  measure  subversive  of  the  Manitoba  school 
system  will  be  introduced  into  the  Dominion  parliament.  Is 
the  Sbaretti  incident  without  significance?  Let  us  look  at  it. 
The  Hon.  Messrs.  Rogers  and  Campbell,  respectively  the  Min- 
ister of  Public  Works  and  Attorney  General  of  Manitoba, 
go  to  Ottawa  to  arrange,  if  possible,  for  the  enlargement  of 
the  northern  boundary  of  that  province.  After  an  unsatisfac- 
tory interview  with  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier,  Premier  of  Canada, 
they  are  told  by  him  that  they  had  better  remain  for  a  few 
days  in  the  Capital  before  returning  homeward.  They  do  so, 
and  within  a  day  after  having  seen  the  Premier,  they  are 


462  APPENDIX 

invited  by  Monsignor  Sbarretti,  the  Papal  Delegate,  to  a  pri- 
vate conference.  At  that  meeting,  it  is  made  clear  by  Mon- 
signor Sbarretti  to  the  Manitoba  Ministers  that  the  opposi- 
tion to  the  extension  of  the  province's  boundary  is  at  least 
sympathised  with  by  the  hierarchy,  if  not  entirely  due  to  them. 
His  words  on  that  occasion  leave  no  question  as  regards  that, 
when  the  position  he  holds  and  the  authority  he  wields  are 
taken  in  conjunction  with  them.  His  statement  is: 

If  you  ^vill  change  your  school  system,  we  will  see  that 
the  boundaries  of  Manitoba  are  extended. 

I  do  not  intend  to  discuss  here  the  presumptiveness  of 
Mgr.  Sbarretti,  the  representative  of  the  Vatican,  venturing 
to  interfere  in  the  internal  affairs  of  Canada.  Such  is  ever 
the  method  of  the  hierarchy  wherever  they  feel  their  ground 
secure.  What  I  merely  wish  to  draw  attention  to  is  the  fact 
that  Monsignor  Sbarretti,  the  official  mouthpiece  of  both  the 
Vatican  and  the  hierarchy,  proposed  that  the  present  school 
system  of  Manitoba  should  be  changed.  In  other  words,  he 
was  bargaining  for  the  enforcement  of  separate  schools  in 
Manitoba. 

Monsignor  Sbarretti's  words  may  be  accepted  as  true, 
since  he  has  not  denied  them.  His  explanation  was  that  he 
was  simply  speaking  as  a  private  individual,  and  not  as  the 
representative  of  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier.  Allow  that,  and  the 
result  is  still  the  same.  The  hierarchy  of  Canada  have  then- 
eye  on  Manitoba.  They  are  not  at  all  satisfied  with  Manitoba 
having  refused  to  recognise  the  separate  school  by  statute. 
Be  sure  they  are  not  the  class  of  men  to  remain  quiescent 
while  they  have  an  object  in  view.  They  will  leave  no  stone 
unturned  to  accomplish  their  purpose. 

MONSIGNOR  FALCONIO  SHOWS  ANGER. 

There  is  an  incident  worth  recording  that  points  to  the 
fact  that  the  hierarchy  have,  since  the  struggle  of  1896,  been 
ceaselessly  striving  after  the  subversion  of  the  Manitoba 


THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL.  463 

school  system.  Monsignor  Falconio,  then  Papal  Delegate  of 
Canada,  was  on  a  visit  to  the  west.  On  his  arrival  at  Win- 
nipeg, he  was  presented  with  an  address  in  which  complaint 
was  made  against  Sir  Wilfrid  Lnurier,  because  of  his  action 
in  relation  to  the  Manitoba  school  question.  Mgr.  Falconio, 
it  is  stated,  tore  the  address  from  the  hands  that  held  it,  and 
throwing  it  to  the  ground,  stamped  upon  it,  at  the  same  time 
saying  angrily  that  no  Catholic  should  dare  to  utter  one  word 
against  Sir  Wilfrid,  the  implication  being  that  the  latter 
would  have  separate  schools  established  by  law  throughout 
the  we^st,  when  the  opportunity  came. 

THE  CANADIAN  PREMIER  FAILS  TO  CLEAR  HIMSELF. 

And  is  the  opportunity  now  approaching?  Does  it  need 
much  foresight  to  predict  that  after  the  passing  of  the  Au- 
tonomy Measure  as  it  stands,  raising  the  North- West  Terri- 
tories of  Canada  to  the  status  of  provinces,  there  will  come 
another  attempt  on  Manitoba's  liberties?  Sir  ;Wilfrid  has 
denied  all  connection  with  Mgr.  Sbarretti  and  responsibility 
for  the  latter's  words.  His  denial  may  be  accepted.  But  one 
thing  he  did  not  say  —  a  thing,  too,  that  was  needed  to  re- 
assure the  minds  of  the  people,  namely,  that  he  would  never 
favour  "any  attempt  to  induce  Manitoba  to  establish  separate 
schools.  Mgr.  Sbarretti  did  not  speak  without  having  ground 
to  go  upon.  He  must  have  had  a  pledge  of  some  kind  to  ex- 
plain his  adopting  the  tone  he  did.  No  man  on  such  an  occa- 
sion would  speak  as  he  did  without  some  authority.  Is  it  not 
then  conclusive  that  Sir  Wilfrid  is  but  waiting  his  opportu- 
nity— indeed,  is  now  making  his  opportunity — to  pave  the 
way  for  separate  schools  in  Manitoba? 

MANITOBA  HEMMED  IN. 

Imagine  Manitoba,  should  the  education  clauses  in  the 
Autonomy  Measure  pass,  holding  out  against  the  further 
encroachments  of  the  hierarchy!  To  the  east  and  the  west 
she  will  be  hemmed  in  by  provinces  in  which  the  hierarchy 


464  APPENDIX. 

wield  paramount  power.  We  have  seen  how,  step  by  step, 
the  hierarchy  have  gained  ground  in  Ontario,  where  the  public 
school  system  was  once  firmly  established,  and  where  now  the 
public  school  has  been  made  to  disappear  in  many  instances 
before  the  separate  school.  Is  it  too  much,  then,  to  say  that, 
with  the  hierarchy  triumphant  in  the  east  and  the  west,  they 
will  soon  bring  Manitoba  to  its  knees  ? 

For,  remember  that  the  hierarchy  have  not  to  break  new 
ground  in  Manitoba.  They  are  there,  as  we  have  already 
seen.  Their  schools  are  flourishing  and  favoured  by  the  Man- 
itoba government.  All  that  remains  is  to  have  them  legalised ; 
and  from  the  present  status  they  occupy  to  that,  is  not  even 
a  step.  Nothing  more  is  required  than  a  mere  formal  ap- 
proval by  the  government  of  the  educational  code  taught 
within  them,  —  a  matter  of  no  difficulty  where  politicians,  as 
in  Canada,  are  more  concerned  about  votes  than  they  are 
about  the  country's  welfare. 

How  WAS  SIR  WILFRID  LAURIER  INFLUENCED? 

The  probability  is  that  the  inwardness  of  the  North- 
West  Autonomy  Measure  will  never  be  made  public.  The 
hierarchy  glory  in  working  in  the  dark ;  they  are  in  their 
element  where  intrigues  are  concerned;  they  delight  in  secret 
interviews,  in  half-concealed  threats,  in  dazzling  promises 
which  are  never  carried  out.  How  Sir  Wilfrid  has  been 
wrought  upon  will  likely  remain  forever  among  the  hidden 
things  of  the  world;  but  as  regards  his  having  completely 
fallen  under  the  influence  of  the  hierarchy,  there  can  be  no 
shadow  of  doubt.  Remembering  the  stand  he  took  in  1896, 
when  the  Manitoba  school  question  was  before  the  people  of 
Canada;  remembering  his  fearless  denunciation  then  of  the 
aims  of  the  hierarchy ;  remembering,  also,  his  proved  devo- 
tion to  the  public  weal  in  spite  of  all  their  threats,  I  cannot 
but  conclude  that  pressure  of  an  extraordinary  kind  has  been 
brought  to  bear  on  him  to  induce  him  to  wheel  right  about 
and  take  a  position  the  opposite  to  that  which  he  formerly 


THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL.  465 

occupied.  There  must  have  been  secret  interviews  innumer- 
able, threats  and  promises  of  the  strongest  character.  In- 
deed, it  is  not  too  much  to  believe  that  the  authority  of  the 
Vatican  itself  has  been  called  in  to  compel  Sir  Wilfrid's  sub- 
mission. For  without  pressure  of  a  most  'unusual  character 
no  man  would  ever  dream  'of  making-  the  volte  face  that  Sir 
Wilfrid  has  made. 

In  1896,  though  not  touching  specially  on  the  school 
question  in  his  speeches,  the  cause  he  championed  was  in 
reality  the  public  school  cause.  It  was  for  the  purpose  of 
allowing  Manitoba  to  settle  her  own  educational  affairs,  and 
had  it  not  been  for  the  intrigues  of  the  hierarchy,  she  then 
would  have  banished  the  separate  school  from  her  borders. 

SIR  WILFRID  SLANDERS  AMERICA. 

Could  a  stronger  advocate  of  the  separate  school  be 
found  than  Sir  Wilfrid  showed  himself  in  the  Spring  of 
1905?  Consider  his  .words  when  bringing  the  Autonomy 
Measure  before  the  Canadian  House  of  Commons.  After  a 
long  argument  in  favour  of  religious  teaching  in  the  school 
he  says: 

WThen  I  compare  Canada  with  the  United  States,  when 
I  compare  the  statutes  of  the  two  nations,  when  I  think  upon 
their  future,  when  I  observe  the  social  conditions  in  the  civil 
society  of  each  of  them,  and  when  I  observe  in  this  country 
of  ours  a  total  absence  of  lynchings,  and  an  almost  total 
absence  of  divorces  and  murders,  for  my  part  I  think  we  are 
living  in  a  country  where  the  young  children  of  the  land  are 
taught  Christian  morals  and  Christian  dogmas. 

THE  SLANDER  ANSWERED. 

His  words  are  an  insult  to  the  free  people  of  the  United 
States.  Lynchings,  divorces  and  murders,  forsooth!  I  seek 
in  no  degree  to  extenuate  these  blots  upon  the  civilisation  of 
the  States.  That  there  are  lynchings,  divorces  and  murders 
is,  alas !  too  true ;  but  that  these  are  due  to  the  national  school 
system  of  America  I  most  emphatically  deny.  The.  public 


466  APPENDIX. 

school  is  the  backbone  of  American  civilisation,  and  the  blots 
mentioned  are  largely  due  to  the  agglomeration  of  the  multi- 
tude of  races  to  be  found  in  the  United  States,  and  which 
America  is  slowly  and  surely  digesting. 

In  judging  of  conditions  in  America,  one  must  consider 
that  she  is  still  in  the  formative  stage.  We  are  only  begin- 
ning as  a  nation.  We  have  hardly  yet  reached  the  period  of 
adolescence  as  a  people.  Our  national  character  is  not  yet 
fully  formed.  And  it  would  be  strange,  indeed,  if,  while  we 
are  still  in  the  formative  condition,  our  civilisation  had  not 
many  blurs  and  defects,  even  of  a  grievous  nature.  Thank 
God,  we  have  not  the  crimes  to  account  for  that  marked  the 
formative  stage  of  England  and  of  every  other  country  of 
the  Old  World.  The  history  of  Europe  in  the  early  middle 
ages,  and,  in  fact,  until  the  French  Revolution,  is  simply  a 
record  of  blood  and  wrong.  It  is  a  record  of  nation  fighting 
against  nation  for  territorial  aggrandisement,  of  class  fighting 
against  class,  of  internal  feuds,  of  party  strife  which  often 
led  to  the  shedding  of  blood,  of  the  tyranny  of  the  strong  and 
the  oppression  of  the  weak,  —  a  record  of  rapine,  of  cruelty 
and  brutality. 

And  divorces!  Was  the  marriage  tie  of  any  account  in 
Europe  until  recent  years?  Even  as  late  as  the  close  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  was  marital  fidelity  considered  to  be  a 
necessary  virtue?  If  the  books  dealing  with  that  period  are 
to  be  believed,  sexual  virtue  was  a  flower  so  rare  that  it  had 
to  be  sought  for  long  before  it  could  be  found. 

I  make  bold  to  say  that,  considering  the  population  to 
be  found  within  America,  considering  its  magnitude  and  the 
variety  of  peoples  it  comprehends,  it  is  more  free  from  crime 
than  any  other  country  in  the  world.  Wait  until  Canada  has 
her  teeming  millions ;  wait  until  her  great  west  is  filled  with 
the  surplus  crowds  of  European  countries,  which  have  begun 
to  pour  in  there,  and  see  if  she  will  have  the  same  honourable 
record  to  boast  of,  that  is  justly  the  pride  of  the  people  of 
the  United  States. 


THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL.  467 

Moreover,  it  is  a  fact  so  notorious  that  there  is  no  necessity 
for  dwelling  on  it,  that  the  product  of  the  separate  school  is 
more  commonly  found  among  the  criminal  classes  than  the 
product  of  any  other  system  of  education.  Yes,  to  my  shame 
as  a  Catholic  I  say  it,  the  percentage  of  Catholics  among  crim- 
inals is  greater  than  that  of  any  other  form  of  religious  belief. 
And  go  down  to  the  slums  of  our  great  cities,  whether  it  be  on 
this  side  of  the  Atlantic  or  the  other,  and  who  are  the  denizens 
of  the  fetid  hovels  which  reek  with  crime  as  well  as  with 
physical  foulness,  but  members  of  the  Catholic  Church ;  who 
are  products  of  the  separate  or  parochial  school,  and  who  have 
been  fed  on  the  empty  trivialities  the  separate  school  provides  ? 
The  separate  school  has  not  fitted  them  for  the  struggle  of  life. 
It  has  made  them  morally  and  mentally  feeble,  so  that  they 
have  been  forced  to  go  down  before  the  products  of  the  public 
school. 

Look  at  France  to-day,  the  eldest  daughter  of  the  Church,  a 
country  which  may  be  described  as  the  product,  not  of  the 
State,  but  of  the  separate  school.  Is  France  profoundly  re- 
ligious, moral  or  free  from  crime?  Is  the  marriage  tie  held 
sacred  within  her  borders?  The  state  of  things  in  France  is 
too  well  known  to  require  any  comment. 

And  it  is  to  the  condition  that  prevails  in  France  that  Sir 
Wilfred  Laurier  has  striven — unconsciously,  no  doubt — to 
bring  Canada.  That  and  no  less  is  what  the  education  clauses 
of  the  Autonomy  measure  imply.  They  place  the  education  of 
Catholic  children  in  the  hands  of  the  hierarchy. 

EDUCATION  CLAUSES  OF  THE  AUTONOMY  MEASURE. 
The  following  are  the  clauses  referred  to: 

Section  93  of  the  British  North  America  Act,  1867,  shall 
apply  to  the  said  province,  with  the  substitution  for  Subsection 
'I  of  said  Section  93  of  the  following  subsection : 

Nothing  in  any  such  law  shall  prejudicially  affect  any  right 
or  privilege  with  respect  to  separate  schools  which  any  class  of 
persons  have  at  the  date  of  the  passing  of  this  act,  under  the 


468  APPENDIX. 

terms  of  Chapters  29  and  30  of  the  ordinances  of  the  North- 
West  Territories  passed  in  the  year  1901. 

In  the  appropriation  by  the  legislature  for  distribution  by 
the  government  of  the  provinces  of  any  money  for  the  support 
of  schools  organized  and  carried  on  in  accordance  with  said 
Chapter  29,  or  any  act  passed  in  amendment  thereof  or  in  sub- 
stitution therefor,  there  shall  be  no  discrimination  against  any 
schools  of  any  class  described  in  the  said  Chapter  29. 

Where  the  expression  bye-law  is  employed  in  Subsection 
93,  it  shall  be  held  to  mean  the  law  as  set  out  in  the  said  Chap- 
ters 29  and  30,  and  where  the  expression  "at  the  union"  is  em- 
ployed in  said  Subsection  3,  it  shall  be  held  to  mean  the  date 
at  which  this  act  comes  into  force. 

So  much  has  been  seen  to  depend  upon  the  terms  of  the 
British  North  America  Act,  mentioned  above,  that  it  is  well 
for  us  to  understand  their  precise  purport.  The  clause  regu- 
lating education  is  as  follows : 

In  and  for  each  province  the  legislature  may  exclusively 
make  laws  in  relation  to  education,  subject  and  according  to 
the  following  provisions : 

i.  Nothing  in  any  such  law  shall  prejudicially  affect  any 
right  or  privilege  with  respect  to  denominational  schools  which 
any  class  of  persons  have  by  law  in  the  province  at  the  union. 

3.  Where  in  any  province  a  system  of  separate  or  dissen- 
tient schools  exists  by  law  at  the  union  or  is  thereafter  estab- 
lished by  tiie  legislature  of  the  province,  an  appeal  shall  lie  to 
the  Governor-General-in-Council  from  any  act  or  decision  of 
any  provincial  authority  affecting  any  right  or  privilege  of  the 
Protestant  or  Roman  Catholic  minoritv  of  the  King's  subjects 
in  relation  to  education. 

All  legal  phraseology  set  aside,  a  study  of  the  above  clause, 
together  with  the  education  terms  in  the  Autonomy  Measure, 
will  lay  bare  the  fact  that  the  purport  of  that  act  is  to  perpetu- 
ate the  same  system  in  the  North- West  that  obtains  in  Quebec 
and  Ontario.  In  short,  it  is  to  bind  the  new  provinces  to  the 
maintenances  of  separate  schools. 

HON.  F.  W.  G.  HAULTAIN  REMONSTRATES. 

Before  coming  to  a  conclusion  on  the  authority  of  the  par- 
liament of  Canada  to  propose  such  an  enactment,  the  opinion  of 


THE  SEPARATE  OR  1'AfcnCTTTAL   SCHOOL.  469 

the  lion.  F.  W.  G.  Haultain,  Premier  of  the  North-West  Ter- 
ritories, and  a  lawyer  of  national  repute,  should  be  consulted. 
In  a  long  letter  on  the  subject  to  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier,  he  takes 
strong  objection  to  the  latter's  action,  as  the  following  extracts 
will  prove.  He  writes : 

The  proposed  attempt  to  legislate  in  advance  on  this  sub- 
ject is  beyond  the  power  of  parliament,  and  is  unwarrantable 
and  unconstitutional  anticipation  of  the  remedial  jurisdiction. 
It  has,  further,  the  effect  of  petrifying  the  positive  law  of  the 
province  with  regard  to  a  subject  coming  within  its  exclusive 
jurisdiction  and  necessitating  requests  for  imperial  legislation 
whenever  the  rapidly  changing  conditions  of  a  new  country 
may  require  them. 

Strong,  is  it  not,  in  opposition  to  the  position  taken  by  Sir 
Wilfrid  Laurier?  Mr.  Haultain  does  not  deny  the  power  of 
the  Canadian  parliament  to  legislate  when  called  upon  by  a 
minority,  but  he  takes  the  ground  that  to  legislate  beforehand, 
is  entirely  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of  that  body.  And  no  minor- 
ity, no  individual,  for  that  matter,  in  the  North-West  Terri- 
tories had  called  upon  the  Dominion  parliament  to  legislate 
respecting  separate  schools. 

Later  he  says: 

It  is  a  direct  interference  by  parliament  with  the  right  of 
the  province  to  do  as  it  seems  best  with  its  own  ...  I  rec- 
ognize no  power  in  parliament  to  make  laws  for  the  new  prov- 
inces in  contravention  of  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  British 
North  America  Act.  Further,  I  recognize  neither  right  nor 
justice  in  the  attempt  to  dictate  to  the  provinces  of  Alberta  and 
Saskatchewan  (the  provinces  affected)  the  manner  in  which 
they  shall  conduct  their  own  business.  .  .  .  The  new  prov- 
inces have  their  own  future  to  work  out,  and  I  deplore  the  pos- 
sibility that  they  may  commence  their  careers  torn  with  dissen- 
sion upon  such  subjects  as  these. 

Then  comes  a  most  significant  statement : 

It  seems  to  me  that  a  great  deal  of  this  trouble  might  have 
been  avoided,  had  we  been  afforded  an  opportunity  of  discuss- 
ing these  proposals,  and  I  feel  that  I  must  place  on  record  the 
fact  that  I  am  not  responsible  for  the  situation. 


47°  APPENDIX. 

CABINET  is  NOT  CONSULTED. 

Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  had  not  even  taken  Mr.  Haultain  into 
his  confidence,  although  the  legislation  he  intended  proposing 
was  for  the  region  over  which  Mr.  Haultain's  authority  ex- 
tended. Surely  a  most  curious  state  of  matters.  More,  it 
has  been  definitely  established  that  Sir  Wilfrid  did  not  so  much 
as  take  into  his  confidence,  in  respect  to  this  measure,  all  the 
members  of  his  own  cabinet — a  most  unusual  proceeding  for  i 
Premier,  under  the  British  system,  to  adopt.  It  was  not  that 
he  expected  no  opposition  to  the  measure.  Opposition  was 
shown  on  every  side.  Was  it  not  rather  because  he  knew  the 
opposition  would  be  intense,  and  on  the  part  of  the  people  who 
were  most  interested?  That  is  the  more  likely  explanation, 
and  one  that  has  been  confirmed  by  the  later  developments  of 
the  case. 

MR.  CHRISTOPHER  ROBINSON'S  OPINION. 

But  Mr.  Haultain  was  not  the  only  legal  light  who  ex- 
pressed himself  on  the  action  of  the  Canadian  parliament  in 
imposing  separate  schools  on  the  new  provinces.  Mr.  Chris- 
topher Robinson,  K.  C.,  whose  reputation  as  a  constitutional 
lawyer  extends  to  two  continents,  also  gave  a  deliverance  on 
the  subject.  These  are  his  words: 

I  am  asked  whether  parliament  is  constitutionally  bound  to 
impose  restrictions  upon  the  provinces  about  to  be  formed  in 
dealing  with  the  subject  of  education  and  separate  schools,  or 
whether  any  such  restriction  otherwise  exists,  and  I  am  of 
opinion  in  the  negative.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  I  am 
concerned  only  with  the  question  of  legal  obligation ;  what  par- 
liament ought  to  do  or  should  do  in  the  exercise  of  any  power 
which-they  possess  is  not  within  the  province  of  counsel. 

Such  a  restriction,  I  apprehend,  must  exist,  or  may  be  im- 
posed, if  at  all,  under  the  provisions  of  Section  93  of  the  Brit- 
ish North  America  Act,  1867,  and  on  the  ground  of  their  appli- 
cation to  the  provinces  now  to  be  formed.  If  that  section  ap- 
plies, it  would  seem  to  require  no  enactment  of  our  parliament 
to  give  it  effect,  and,  if  not,  no  such  enactment,  so  far  as  I  am 
aware,  is  otherwise  made  necessarv. 


THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL.  471 

On  the  whole,  I  am  of  opinion  that  Section  93  does  not  ap- 
ply to  the  provinces  now  about  to  be  established.  Its  provisions 
would  appear  to  me  to  be  intended  for  and  confined  to  the  then 
provinces  and  to  the  union  formed  in  1867.  There  is  not  in 
any  part  of  the  North-West  Territories  as  a  province,  any  right 
or  privilege  with  respect  to  denominational  schools  possessed 
by  any  class  of  persons,  created  by  the  province  or  existing  at 
such  union,  and  a  right  subsequently  established  by  the  Domin- 
ion in  the  part  now  about  to  be  made  a  province  does  not 
appear  to  me  to  come  within  the  enactment. 

SIR  WILFRID  LAURIER  AN  APT  SCHOLAR. 

When  the  aims  of  the  hierarchy  are  concerned,  provincial 
rights  and  all  other  rights  must  go.  Sir  Wilfrid  learned  his 
lesson  well.  He  proved  himself  an  apt  scholar.  To  satisfy  the 
hierarchy  he  outraged  the  constitution  of  the  country,  went 
back  upon  his  own  record,  and  played  the  autocrat,  when  he 
should  have  been  the  defender  of  the  people's  liberties.  Had 
his  life  closed  with  1896,  he  would  have  been  lauded  in  history 
as  the  first  of  patriots  and  among  the  most  lofty  minded  of 
public  men ;  but  through  his  attitude  in  1905  in  connection  with 
the  coercion  of  the  Canadian  west,  arid  his  subserviency  to  the 
interests  of  the  hierarchy,  his  name  will  stand  in  the  annals  of 
his  country  as  that  of  a  man  who  betrayed  his  trust. 

UNJUSTIFIABLE  TO  COERCE  THE  NORTH-WEST. 

I  make  no  comment  on  the  opinions  of  Mr.  Haultain  and 
Mr.  Robinson.  They  are  sufficient  to  convince  me  that  the  ac- 
tion of  the  Canadian  parliament  in  forcing  separate  schools  on 
the  west  was  unjustifiable.  And  even  the  most  bigoted  advocate 
of  separate  schools  must  acknowledge  that  they  establish  at 
least  this,  that  there  is  much  to  be  said  in  favour  of  allowing 
the  provinces  to  settle  the  school  question  for  themselves.  But, 
no ;  such  a  proceeding  would  not  be  agreeable  to  the  hierarchy. 
Their  power  in  the  west,  where  the  wind  blows  free  over  the 
vast  prairie,  is  not  so  strong  as  in  the  east,  where  men  arc  ac- 
customed to  bow  to  their  authority.  The  west  might  refuse  to 


472  APPENDIX. 

have  separate  schools  established  within  its  limits ;  and,  there- 
fore, coercion  must  be  employed.  The  hierarchy  must  make 
sure ;  they  would  not  trust  to  the  consciences  and  experience  of 
the  people,  lest  they  might  be  for  all  time  baulked  in  their  pur- 
pose. The  west,  like  the  east,  is  fettered  by  the  separate  school 
—a  bond  that  will  prove  the  greatest  hindrance  to  its  future 
progress. 

Indeed,  the  whole  of  Canada  is  bound  to  suffer  by  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  separate  school  system. 

DISASTROUS  EFFECTS  OF  THE  SEPARATE  SCHOOL. 

IMMIGRATION. 

The  interests  of  immigration  will  be  affected.  What  has 
made  the  people  of  the  Old  World  turn  with  longing  eyes  to 
the  land  of  the  setting  sun,  as  the  continent  of  America  is 
usually  described  in  literature,  but  the  freedom  supposed  to  be 
enjoyed  here  from  the  bonds  that  hold  men,  as  in  a  vice,  in  the 
countries  of  Europe?  It  is  true  that  many  a  man  has  crossed 
the  ocean  with  no  higher  aim  than  to  make  a  fortune ;  but  what 
of  the  thousands  who  have  made  homes  in  America,  far  from 
the  tyranny  of  the  oppressors  they  formerly  served  ?  They 
wished  to  be  free;  they  thirsted  after  liberty  of  thought  and 
action,  and  they  hoped  to  find  it  in  the  New  World.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  but  that  this  has  contributed  largely  to  the  tremen- 
dous influx  of  people  into  the  United  States  within  recent 
years. 

On  a  memorable  occasion  Sir  Wilfrid  Laurier  stated  it  as 
his  belief,  that  while  the  nineteenth  century  may  be  described 
as  having  belonged  to  the  United  States,  the  twentieth  would 
be  seen  to  belong  to  Canada.  How  can  this  be  realized  if  the 
separate  school  is  to  continue  as  an  integral  part  of  the  educa- 
tional system  of  Canada?  We  see  the  strenuous  efforts  made 
by  France  and  other  countries,  which  have  had  a  full  experi- 
ence of  the  separate  school,  to  free  themselves  from  that  in- 
cubus. We  know  also  that  in  Britain  there  is  a  strong  move- 
ment towards  national  schools.  Is  it  possible,  then,  that  the 


THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL.  473 

people  of  the  Old  World,  passionately  desirous,  as  they  show 
themselves,  to  be  delivered  from  the  separate  school,  will  vol- 
untarily make  their  homes  in  a  country  where  that  institution 
is  in  a  flourishing  condition?  It  is  not  reasonable  to  suppose 
so.  They  will,  if  they  propose  to  emigrate,  turn  their  eyes  to 
a  clime  in  which  the  separate  school  has  not  been  established. 
That  this  is  not  merely  a  piece  of  rhetoric,  not  merely  put- 
ting up  an  argument  that  is  without  meaning,  let  me  state  that 
the  immigration  officials  of  the  Canadian  government,  in  their 
report,  distinctly  mention  that  one  of  the  principal  inducements 
that  have  led  so  many  to  enter  Canada,  during  the  past  few 
years,  is  the  promise  of  a  national  school  system  existing  in  the 

country. 

INTERFERENCE  BY  THE  VATICAN. 

Another  undesirable  consequence  of  the  separate  school 
will  be  the  certainty  of  the  interference  of  the  Vatican  in  the  in- 
ternal affairs  of  the  country.  We  have  shown  that  this  already 
exists,  both  in  Canada  and  in  the  United  States,  and  mention 
of  it  will  not,  therefore,  detain  us  long  here.  The  necessity  to 
emphasize  it  is,  however,  too  strong,  in  face  of  the  growing 
power  of  the  hierarchy  in  every  land,  to  allow  of  it  not  being 
touched  upon  again.  One  of  the  fundamental  principles  under- 
lying the  existence  of  every  sovereign  state  is  the  right  to  man- 
age its  own  affairs.  There  is  not  a  nation  in  Europe  but  has 
had  to  shed  the  blood  of  its  people  in  defense  of  this  doctrine. 
For  centuries,  indeed,  the  struggle  on  the  part  of  the  peoples 
of  the  Old  World  was  for  the  right  of  self-government.  Again 
and  again,  the  Vatican  strove  for  the  mastery  of  Europe,  pit- 
ting one  nation  against  another,  and  again  and  again  was 
beaten  in  its  object.  Look  at  Italy  to-day,  where  the  hierarchy 
are  more  under  the  blaze  of  publicity  than  in  any  other  coun- 
try, and  see  how  carefully  she  has  to  walk  and  how  watchful 
she  is  lest  the  hierarchy  regain  their  former  ascendancy  in  po- 
litical affairs.  Is  not  this  to  some  extent  the  motive  underlying 
the  present  attitude  of  the  French  government  toward  the  re- 
ligious orders  and  the  schools  that  were  under  their  control? 


474  APPENDIX. 

Are  not  the  French  people  weary  of  the  interference  of  the 
hierarchy  in  their  internal  affairs?  Are  they  not  simply  mak- 
ing a  bid  for  liberty ;  proclaiming  before  the  world  their  deter- 
mination to  be  free  politically  from  the  control  of  the  Vatican? 
The  aim  of  the  hierarchy  on  this  continent  is  to  capture  the 
young ;  to  gain  an  influence  over  them,  so  that  in  the  years  to 
come  the  people  who  are  bearing  the  burden  of  public  affairs, 
the  men  who  are  guiding  the  destiny  of  the  State,  shall, 
through  the  doctrines  regarding  priestly  authority  instilled 
into  their  minds  in  youth,  submit  to  hierarchical  dictation  in 
respect  to  the  nation's  policy.  As  I  have  pointed  out  in  a  for- 
mer- portion  of  this  work,  the  Vatican  seeks  to  assert  its  su- 
premacy in  all  matters,  political  as  well  as  religious.  I  directed 
attention  to  the  method  by  which  it  hoped  to  attain  this  in  the 
United  States.  And  its  aim  is  not  less  treasonable  as  far  as 
Canada  is  concerned. 

EDUCATIONAL  STANDARDS  LOWERED. 

But  there  is  still  another  way  in  which  the  separate  school 
is  against  the  interests  of  the  State.  I  refer  to  the  injury  it 
works  to  education.  This  is  a  matter  of  so  wide  notoriety  that 
the  separate  school  stands  throughout  the  world  for  a  defective 
system  of  education.  To  say  otherwise,  is  to  acknowledge  ig- 
norance of  the  true  condition  of  affairs  in  this  regard.  The 
hierarchy  delight  in  keeping  the  young  under  their  control  in 
the  grossest  ignorance,  and,  wherever  they  have  had  a  say  in 
educational  matters,  they  have  proved  themselves  the  bitterest 
foes  to  enlightenment. 

No  better  illustration  of  the  truth  of  this  statement  could 
be  mentioned  than  the  intellectual  condition  of  the  products  of 
the  separate  school  system  of  Canada.  Will  it  be  believed  that 
a  vast  proportion  of  the  Catholics  of  British  America  have 
only  the  barest  rudiments  of  instruction?  Will  it  be  credited 
that  it  is  exceptional  to  find  a  French-Canadian  of  the  rural 
class  who  can  even  sign  his  name  ?  I  may  be  thought  to  exag- 
gerate, but  I  ask  the  reader,  before  believing  so,  to  ponder  the 


THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL.  475 

following,  which  is  from  the  pen  of  a  school  inspector  who 
spent  seven  years  itinerating  throughout  Quebec  and  the  east- 
ern districts  of  Ontario,  in  both  of  which  regions  the  separate 
school  is  in  a  flourishing  condition.  He  says: 

In  the  districts  where  separate  schools  are  supposed  to  be 
doing  their  magnificent  work  in  the  method,  par  excellence,  to 
find  a  fairly  well  educated  French-Canadian  is  almost  as  rare 
as  to  find  in  public  school  districts  a  Briton  who  cannot  write 
his  own  name.  In  Eastern  Ontario,  French-Canadians,  who 
can  read  and  write  English,  are  about  as  rare  as  English- 
speaking  people  who  can  do  neither ;  and  any  banker  in  the  dis- 
trict can  tell  you  that  very  few  French-Canadians  can  even 
sign  their  own  names.  Teachers  are  to-day  supposed  to  be 
teaching  English  in  these  schools,  who  cannot  understand  or 
answer  the  simplest  question  in  English  conversation. 

The  inspector  proceeds,  giving  some  significant  facts  about 
the  founding  of  a  separate  school  in  Eastern  Ontario  and  its 
effects  on  the  children  who  were  compelled  to  attend  it.  The 
report  continues: 

A  little  town  in  the  Ottawa  Valley  had,  some  fifteen  years 
ago,  a  public  school  which  all  denominations  attended.  The 
French,  rapidly  increasing  in  numbers,  became  the  majority  in 
the  community,  but  remained  very  poor  in  assessment,  so  that 
the  expense  of  education  bore  very  heavily  on  the  British  sec- 
tion. 

About  this  time  a  rabid  French-Canadian  priest,  of  the 
narrowest  class,  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  parish.  He  deter- 
mined that  the  sheep  must  be  separated  from  the  goats,  and 
began  his  crusade.  He  was  opposed  by  the  French,  who  fore- 
saw a  big  increase  in  taxation,  and  who  had  no  complaints 
against  the  public  school.  He  was  opposed  most  bitterly  by 
the  Irish  Catholics,  who  were  perfectly  satisfied.  The  English 
were  well  pleased  with  the  move,  for  it  meant  lower  rates,  less 
crowding,  and,  not  least,  a  riddance  of  the  French  element. 

As  usual,  the  priest  triumphed.  A  separate  school  was  es- 
tablished. Several  of  the  Irish  held  out.  The  priest  forbade 
their  attendance  at  the  public  schools.  He  forced  a  practical 
boycott,  and  at  last,  one  bv  one.  they  were  compelled  to  yield ; 
but  to  this  day  many  of  them  would  send  their  children  to  the 
public  school  and  pay  the  extra  rates  if  they  dared,  But,  as 


4/6  APPENDIX. 

one  expressed  it  to  me,  "I  might  as  well  close  my  store  to- 
morrow." 

The  priest  tried  to  carry  the  separation  into  social  life,  but 
in  this  he  failed  utterly,  as  the  family  and  social  relations  of 
the  Irish  were  almost  entirely  with  the  British  element,  and 
they  would  not  mix  with  the  French,  and  do  not  to  this  day  to 
any  great  extent,  while  the  relations  between  the  English- 
speaking  Catholics  and  Protestants  are  everything  that  could 
be  desired. 

The  school  established  became  a  French  school,  presided 
over  by  Sisters,  one  of  whom  was  English-speaking.  All  were 
without  professional  training,  and  practically  no  English  was 
taught  except  in  \he  third  and  fourth  senior  classes,  in  the 
English  form.  As  but  very  few  of  the  French  pupils,  particu- 
larly the  boys,  ever  reach  these  forms,  the  result  is  that  about 
the  only  English  learned  is  what  is  picked  up  on  the  streets. 

The  poverty  of  the  people  resulted  in  terrible  overcrowd- 
ing, sometimes  over  one  hundred  in  a  room,  and  the  results 
were  only  what  were  to  be  expected.  For  many  years  not  a 
single  French  pupil  succeeded  in  passing  the  entrance  examin- 
ation to  the  high  school.  This  was  attributed  to  the  unfairness 
of  the  examiners,  although  fair  results  were  sometimes  ob- 
tained with  the  Irish  pupils,  when  not  hopelessly  handicapped 
by  incompetent  teachers. 

Who  can  estimate  the  harm  that  accrues  to  a  people  from 
an  imperfect  educational  system  ?  At  the  outset  of  my  discus- 
sion of  the  situation  in  Canada,  I  mentioned  the  educational 
system  in  vogue  in  the  early  days  of  the  French  occupation  as 
a  probable  cause  of  the  want  of  preparedness  to  cope  with  con- 
ditions on  the.  part  of  settlers  of  that  race,  as  compared  with 
the  settlers  of  the  English  race  to  the  south.  The  situation  is 
much  the  same  to-day.  The  products  of  the  separate  school 
are  the  hewers' of  wood  and  the  drawers  of  water;  while  the 
products  of  the  public  school  are  the  directors  of  the  country's 
affairs. 

INCREASE  OF  CRIME. 

But  there  is  a  further  injury,  namely,  with  respect  to  the 
observance  of  law.  Every  imperfectly  educated  individual  is  a 
menace  to  the  public  peace  and  general  weal  of  the  country  in 


THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL   SCHOOL.  477 

which  he  resides.  Ignorance  and  crime  are  synonymous  terms. 
It  is  the  light  of  knowledge  that  makes  crime  to  vanish. 

DENATIONALIZATION. 

Added  to  these,  there  is  a  danger  that  is  not  properly  un- 
derstood. With  the  separate  school  existing,  the  national  life 
cannot  be  in  a  healthy  condition.  How  is  it  possible  for  the 
many  nationalities  that  are  making  their  home  in  Canada  to 
become  Canadian,  if  the  exclusiveness,  that  is  inseparable  from 
the  separate  school  system,  is  permitted  to  obtain  ? 

It  is  the  public  school  that  has  made  America  what  she  is 
to-day.  I  venture  the  statement  that  there  is  no  people  in  the 
wide  world  more  imbued  with  a  national  spirit,  more  loyal  to 
the  State,  and  more  conscious  of  the  bond  of  a  common  father- 
land than  the  American  people.  Whatever  their  origin ;  what- 
ever the  conditions  whence  they  have  come,  they  become  within 
a  generation  Americans,  imbued  with  a  passionate  love  of 
country  and  with  an  undying  attachment  to  American  institu- 
tions. And  what  is  the  reason  of  this?  It  is  the  children 
meeting  together  in  the  common  school,  learning  side  by  side 
the  great  deeds  of  Americans  in  the  past,  and  imbibing  from 
the  same  lips  the  doctrines  of  liberty  that  are  at  the  root  of  the 
American  constitution.  Hence3  wherever  the  stars  and  stripes 
are  seen  to  wave,  all  who  have  been  born  under  them,  are 
thrilled  to  the  core  with  patriotic  fervour. 

Within  the  borders  of  Canada  are  to  be  found  immigrants 
from  almost  every  country  in  Europe.  Norwegians,  Danes, 
Swedes,  Finns,  Russians,  Germans,  Austrians,  Italians,  French, 
are  making  their  home  within  the  Canadian  west.  The  problem 
is  for  the  nation  to  assimilate  them;  and  it  is  impossible  to 
assimilate  them  without  a  national  school, — a  school  from 
which  all  denominational  ism  and  everything  that  tends  toward 
separatism  will  be  rigorously  excluded. 

The  advocates  of  the  separate  schools  leave  no  doubt  as  to 
their  purpose.  He  who  imagines  that  they  favor  in  any  degree 
Canadians  becoming  a  united  people  labors  under  a  grievous 


47$  APPENDIX. 

misapprehension  of  their  intention.  It  has  been  by  means  of 
the  separate  school  that  the  French-Canadians  of  Quebec  and 
Ontario  stand  to  this  day  apart  from  the  English-speaking 
people  of  the  country.  Close  as  the  two  races  are  together  as 
regards  physical  distance,  with  no  sweep  of  water  flowing  be- 
tween them,  as  is  the  case  with  the  peoples  of  their  blood  in 
Europe,  there  is  as  wide  a  gap  between  them  in  spirit  and  in 
social  life,  as  characterizes  their  European  congeners.  Not- 
withstanding the  century  and  a  half  of  close  contact  with  the 
English-speaking  people  of  Canada,  the  people  of  French  de- 
scent are  still  French-Canadian ;  they  are  not  Canadian  in  feel- 
ing. Their  loyalty,  their  allegiance,  their  national  spirit — these 
are  confined  to  the  people  of  their  own  race,  and  do  not  extend 
to  their  English-speaking  compatriots.  In  the  valleys  of  Que- 
bec, and  in  the  counties  of  Eastern  Ontario,  are  to  be  found 
people  in  abundance  who  cannot  speak  English.  At  an  assize 
court  held  in  the  spring  of  this  year  (1905)  the  majority  of 
the  witnesses  of  French  blood  had  to  be  supplied  with  an  inter- 
preter in  giving  their  evidence.  Indeed,  so  general  was  the 
ignorance  of  the  English  tongue  in  the  court  that  the  presiding 
judge  called  attention  to  it  and  expressed  his  dissatisfaction 
with  conditions  that  made  such- ignorance  possible. 

The  hierarchy  are  using  this  devotion  to  race  and  lan- 
guage on  the  part  of  the  French-Canadians  to  further  their 
own  purposes.  They  would  rejoice  to  see  the  French  and 
English  speaking  peoples  kept  apart  in  the  west,  as  is  the  case 
in  the  east.  Witness  the  words  of  Mgr.  Clouthier,  Bishop  of 
Three  Rivers,  Quebec,  during  the  controversy  on  the  Auton- 
omy Measure : 

We  must  have  federal  legislation  that  will  guarantee  to 
the  minority  the  right  to  have  schools  of  their  own  choosing, 
both  as  regards  religion  and  language.  The  object  which  a 
certain  number  of  people  have  in  view  in  establishing  so-called 
national  schools,  tends  to  stamp  with  the  same  imprint  every 
citizen  of  this  country. 

Now,  this  fusion  of  races^  as  far  as  the  French-Canadians 


THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL.  479 

are  concerned,  is  a  dream,  an  Utopia;  for  it  would  mean  the 
renouncing  of  their  providential  mission,  and  we  have  every 
reason  to  hope  that  they  will  be  faithful  to  that  mission. 

Our  duty  for  the  moment  to  our  English-speaking  fellow- 
citizens,  is  to  live  alongside  of  them,  respecting  their  rights, 
but  forcing  them,  as  the  occasion  may  require,  to  respect  ours. 

Nothing  could  be  plainer,  nothing  could  be  more  conclu- 
sive, nothing  more  emphatic  as  regards  the  aim  of  the  hier- 
archy in  respect  to  the  west.  The  separate  school  stands  for 
a  divided  country.  So  long  as  it  exists,  there  will  not  be  a 
united  Canadian  people.  The  term  Canada  will,  in  fact,  mean 
nothing  more  than  a  vast  territory ;  it  will  have  no  application 
to  the  people  who  reside  within  it;  for  these  will  be  as  far 
apart  as  the  diverse  races  of  the  Austrian  empire  stand, — sep- 
arated by  a  wide  gulf  whose  sides  are  joined  by  no  connecting 
bridge. 

CIVIL  WAR. 

Nor  will  it  end  there.  It  is  a  well-known  truth  in  the  realm 
of  history  that  there  is  no  standing  still  as  regards  conditions 
and  the  characteristics  that  people  display.  An  idea  imbibed 
to-day  may  mean  a  revolution  within  a  century.  A  feeling  of 
coldness  on  the  part  of  one  nation  toward  another  may  eventu- 
ally intensify  into  a  positive  hatred  that  must  find  expression 
in  war.  Hungary  and  German  Austria,  though  under  the  same 
monarch,  have  never  become  one;  and  the  jealousy  that  has 
separated  them  so  long,  led,  half  a  century  ago,  to  one  of  the 
bloodiest  wars  that  history  has  known. 

Is  there  no  possibility  of  the  French  and  English  in  Can- 
ada, ever  meeting  face  to  face  on  the  battle-field  in  a  fratri- 
cidal war?  The  coolness  that  is  being  engendered  between 
them  by  the  separate  school,  unless  dissipated  by  race  fusion,  is 
certain  some  day  to  show  itself  in  active  hostility. 

AN  APPEAL  TO  CANADIANS. 

My  last  word  to  Canada  is  an  appeal  for  the  abolition  of 
the  separate  school,  and  the  establishing  in  its  place  of  a  truly 


480  APPENDIX. 

national  institution.     She  must  do  so  to  have  a  place  among 
the  great  nations  of  the  world. 

A  WARNING  TO  AMERICANS. 

Let  me  ask,  however,  before  closing,  if  there  is  not  in  the 
description  I  have  given  of  the  situation  in  Canada,  a  strong 
warning  to  the  American  people?  We  have  seen  how,  from 
Quebec,  the  separate  school  has  spread  over  the  whole  of  Can- 
ada ;  we  have  seen  how  it  has  in  many  a  place  planted  itself 
upon  the  ruins  of  the  public  school,  destroyed  by  the  machina- 
tions of  the  hierarchy ;  we  have  seen  how  to  advance  the  cause 
of  the  separate  school,  the  Catholic  laity  have  been  terrorized, 
a  cleavage  created  between  residents  of  the  same  district  and 
the  rights  of  the  individual  outraged ;  and  we  have  also  seen 
how  the  public  moneys  have  been  requisitioned  for  the  separate 
school's  maintenance.  Will  not  America  see  the  same  things, 
if  the  least  opening  be  given  the  hierarchy  of  the  United  States 
to  carry  through  their  purposes?  They  cry  for  the  State  to 
recognize  and  maintain  the  parochial  school;  their  aim  is  to 
have  a  State  school  that  will  be  under  their  authority,  and  one 
by  means  of  which  they  will  be  enabled  to  dip  their  hands  into 
the  coffers  of  the  State.  In  the  existence  of  the  parochial  school 
they  have  their  opportunity.  Everywhere  possible  they  are 
establishing  institutions  of  that  character  throughout  the  coun- 
try. Given  a  few  years,  and  there  will  not  be  a  Catholic  com- 
munity from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  that  will  not  have  its 
church  school, — that  is  to  say,  if  the  Republic  continues  in  its 
condition  of  indifference  to  this  grave  danger.  But  will  it  do 
so?  The  hierarchy  are  of  that  opinion,  and  are  laying  their 
plans  accordingly.  Once  the  Catholic  children  of  America  are 
entirely  within  the  parochial  school,  then  will  come  the  de- 
mand to  the  State  for  financial  help.  And  with  that  help,  added 
to  the  rich  gifts  wrung  from  the  Catholic  laity  in  support  of  the 
parochial  school,  that  institution  will  dominate  the  State  and 
threaten  the  very  existence  of  the  public  school,  which  is  the 
country's  strength. 


THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL.  48! 

There  are  three  great  epochs  in  the  history  of  America; 
the  revolution,  the  civil  war,  and  the  war  for  the  liberation  of 
Cuba.  The  first  proved  what  the  American  people  were  will- 
ing to  sacrifice  for  the  sake  of  liberty.  They  had  determined 
to  be  free  men ;  and  toward  the  achievement  of  that  end  they 
were  ready,  nay  eager,  to  lay  down  life  itself.  Had  they  failed 
to  attain  their  purpose,  liberty  itself  would  have  sustained  a 
shock  from  which  it  would  not  easily  have  recovered.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  world's  liberty  was  assured  by  their  success. 
The  second  epoch  marked  the  unification  of  the  States  into  an 
indissoluble  nation.  Appalling  were  the  sacrifies  entailed  by 
the  momentous  struggle.  The  third  epoch  was  one  of  expan- 
sion. The  time  had  come  for  the  withdrawal  of  the  flag  of 
Catholic  Spain  from  the  Western  Hemisphere.  To  the  United 
States  fell  the  lot  of  enforcing  the  decree  of  Providence. 
Blown  up  in  the  harbor  of  Havana,  the  United  States  came 
down  everywhere.  Mr.  McKinley  once  referred  to  these 
epochs  in  these  words : 

At  Bunker  Hiil  liberty  was  at  stake;  at  Gettysburg  the 
Union  was  the  issue ;  before  Manila  and  Santiago  our  armies 
fought,  not  for  gain  or  revenge,  but  for  human  rights.  They 
contended  for  the  freedom  of  the  oppressed,  for  whose  welfare 
the  United  States  has  never  failed  to  lend  a  helping  hand  to 
establish  and  uphold,  and,  I  believe,  never  will.  The  glories 
of  the  war  cannot  be  dimmed,  but  the  result  will  be  incomplete 
and  unworthy  of  us  unless  supplemented  by  civil  victories, 
harder,  possibly,  to  win,  but  in  their  way  no  less  indispensable. 
—Life  of  William  McKinley,  by  Rt.  Rev.  Samuel  Fallows, 
LL.  D.,  p.  283. 

The  United  States  has  undertaken  the  great  task  of  tutor- 
ing an  alien  people,  and  in  the  accomplishment  of  the  work  a 
marked  reliance  upon  the  public  school  is  shown.  In  fact, 
there  exists  no  medium  of  like  efficiency  for  the  inculcation  of 
the  principles  of  democracy.  The  public  school  will  eventually 
make  the  Filipinos  either  free  or  full-fledged  American  citi- 
zens. In  the  light  of  history,  can  any  sane  man  be  doubtful  of 
the  issue  if  the  parochial  school  had  sole  control  of  the  educa- 


480  APPENDIX. 

national  institution.     She  must  do  so  to  have  a  place  among 
the  great  nations  of  the  world. 

A  WARNING  TO  AMERICANS. 

Let  me  ask,  however,  before  closing,  if  there  is  not  in  the 
description  I  have  given  of  the  situation  in  Canada,  a  strong 
warning  to  the  American  people?  We  have  seen  how,  from 
Quebec,  the  separate  school  has  spread  over  the  whole  of  Can- 
ada ;  we  have  seen  how  it  has  in  many  a  place  planted  itself 
upon  the  ruins  of  the  public  school,  destroyed  by  the  machina- 
tions of  the  hierarchy ;  we  have  seen  how  to  advance  the  cause 
of  the  separate  school,  the  Catholic  laity  have  been  terrorized, 
a  cleavage  created  between  residents  of  the  same  district  and 
the  rights  of  the  individual  outraged ;  and  we  have  also  seen 
how  the  public  moneys  have  been  requisitioned  for  the  separate 
school's  maintenance.  Will  not  America  see  the  same  things, 
if  the  least  opening  be  given  the  hierarchy  of  the  United  States 
to  carry  through  their  purposes?  They  cry  for  the  State  to 
recognize  and  maintain  the  parochial  school;  their  aim  is  to 
have  a  State  school  that  will  be  under  their  authority,  and  one 
by  means  of  which  they  will  be  enabled  to  dip  their  hands  into 
the  coffers  of  the  State.  In  the  existence  of  the  parochial  school 
they  have  their  opportunity.  Everywhere  possible  they  are 
establishing  institutions  of  that  character  throughout  the  coun- 
try. Given  a  few  years,  and  there  will  not  be  a  Catholic  com- 
munity from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  that  will  not  have  its 
church  school, — that  is  to  say,  if  the  Republic  continues  in  its 
condition  of  indifference  to  this  grave  danger.  But  will  it  do 
so?  The  hierarchy  are  of  that  opinion,  and  are  laying  their 
plans  accordingly.  Once  the  Catholic  children  of  America  are 
entirely  within  the  parochial  school,  then  will  come  the  de- 
mand to  the  State  for  financial  help.  And  with  that  help,  added 
to  the  rich  gifts  wrung  from  the  Catholic  laity  in  support  of  the 
parochial  school,  that  institution  will  dominate  the  State  and 
threaten  the  very  existence  of  the  public  school,  which  is  the 
country's  strength. 


THE  SEPARATE  OR  PAROCHIAL  SCHOOL.  48 1 

There  are  three  great  epochs  in  the  history  of  America; 
the  revolution,  the  civil  war,  and  the  war  for  the  liberation  of 
Cuba.  The  first  proved  what  the  American  people  were  will- 
ing to  sacrifice  for  the  sake  of  liberty.  They  had  determined 
to  be  free  men ;  and  toward  the  achievement  of  that  end  they 
were  ready,  nay  eager,  to  lay  down  life  itself.  Had  they  failed 
to  attain  their  purpose,  liberty  itself  would  have  sustained  a 
shock  from  which  it  would  not  easily  have  recovered.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  world's  liberty  was  assured  by  their  success. 
The  second  epoch  marked  the  unification  of  the  States  into  an 
indissoluble  nation.  Appalling  were  the  sacrifies  entailed  by 
the  momentous  struggle.  The  third  epoch  was  one  of  expan- 
sion. The  time  had  come  for  the  withdrawal  of  the  flag  of 
Catholic  Spain  from  the  Western  Hemisphere.  To  the  United 
States  fell  the  lot  of  enforcing  the  decree  of  Providence. 
Blown  up  in  the  harbor  of  Havana,  the  United  States  came 
down  everywhere.  Mr.  McKinley  once  referred  to  these 
epochs  in  these  words : 

At  Bunker  Hill  liberty  was  at  stake;  at  Gettysburg  the 
Union  was  the  issue ;  before  Manila  and  Santiago  our  armies 
fought,  not  for  gain  or  revenge,  but  for  human  rights.  They 
contended  for  the  freedom  of  the  oppressed,  for  whose  welfare 
the  United  States  has  never  failed  to  lend  a  helping  hand  to 
establish  and  uphold,  and,  I  believe,  never  will.  The  glories 
of  the  war  cannot  be  dimmed,  but  the  result  will  be  incomplete 
and  unworthy  of  us  unless  supplemented  by  civil  victories, 
harder,  possibly,  to  win,  but  in  their  way  no  less  indispensable. 
—Life  of  William  McKinley,  by  Rt.  Rev.  Samuel  Fallows, 
LL.  D.,  p.  283. 

The  United  States  has  undertaken  the  great  task  of  tutor- 
ing an  alien  people,  and  in  the  accomplishment  of  the  work  a 
marked  reliance  upon  the  public  school  is  shown.  In  fact, 
there  exists  no  medium  of  like  efficiency  for  the  inculcation  of 
the  principles  of  democracy.  The  public  school  will  eventually 
make  the  Filipinos  either  free  or  full-fledged  American  citi- 
zens. In  the  light  of  history,  can  any  sane  man  be  doubtful  of 
the  issue  if  the  parochial  school  had  sole  control  of  the  educa- 


482  APPENDIX. 

tion  of  the  youth  of  the  Philippines  ?  Give  the  parochial  school 
right  of  way  in  those  islands,  and  the  people  will  be  enslaved 
in  ignorance,  made  the  sport  of  priestly  lust,  and  robbed  by 
clerical  grafters  till  the  end  of  time.  The  public  school  in  the 
Philippine  Islands  makes  possible  the  winning  of  the  "civil 
victories"  alluded  to  by  Mr.  McKinley. 

The  separate  or  parochial  school  strikes  at  the  freedom, 
the  unity  and  the  perpetuity  of  the  United  States.  Let  the 
parochial  school  become  dominant,  and  America  will  cease  to 
stand  in  the  van  of  the  nations  of  the  world,  free,  united  and 
invincible. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


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General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


p 


